Lives Beyond Jealousy and Revenge
by AnimeAndMangaFan
Summary: Ruka is finally getting over the leave of her hatted crush, but when the opportunity to chase after him in a tournament with the promise of a wish as a prize arises, she chases after the teen and his blond companion. RukaxHatGuyxSherry And later xRei S.
1. Imposters

As stated in the description, this _is_ a sequel to a story that I finished a few days ago called _Jealousy_. If you haven't read it, I would highly suggest reading it, as it will fill in a lot of blanks and give you insights on the characters and their relationships. You probably will be able to read this without reading to Jealousy though, if you know the basics of Yugioh 5ds, but again, I'd highly recommend it. To review some basic things quickly: 'Kaze' is Hat Guy from the Tag Force games. He is the same hat guy from Tag Force 1-5, which means he has the duel academy history and all of that. Ruka is 15, in this story, Kaze is 18/19 depending on how you want to see him as, although his age doesn't play a major part, and Sherry is 18. That should be all of the major parts... With that aside, this story starts a week after _Jealousy_ ends (Which is after the battle with Zone)

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><p><em>"Ruka..."<em>

Chills went down my spine and my hairs stood on end. I was alone at home... So... so why did I hear someone say my name...? I don't know from where, but I feel like I know that voice... It was so faint, that I can't even put the voice to a face though...

"Hey Ruka," my twin brother, Rua, cheered as he ran over to me, eagerly clutching some papers in his hand as if they were winning lottery tickets.

"What is it," I asked.

"Look at this! Look at this," Rua shouted and waved the papers in my face, so fast that I couldn't even read them.

"C-Calm down, will you," I asked. Rua stopped his thrashing of the papers after a few seconds, if only to make it easier for him to see me and my reaction for what he'd say next.

"Look at this! Its so cool! It'd be awesome," Rua said, and ranted more, but I was more intent on reading the papers. A dueling tournament...? On an island out at sea?

"Why do you want to enter this," I asked.

"_Hello_! Look at the prize," Rua said. I trailed my eyes to the bottom of the page, where_ 'Grand Prize'_ was written in bold letters.

"_'The winner of the tournament will be given one wish, for whatever he or she desires'_," I read. "Wish...? You honestly believe this, Rua," I asked.

"Its true! When I was at the plaza with Tenpi, there was this guy there who was handing out these flyers and said he'd prove it! He took this old guy and in a few seconds, he had a full head of hair! It was so cool," Rua shouted. "Besides! We're going to an island... Don't you think there's a chance that Kaze will be there," Rua asked.

Kaze...

He did leave about a week ago, and I haven't heard from him since, so there was the slim chance he could be on this island, but there were how many islands in the world. Chances are that he wouldn't be there... Wait a second... Kaze left with Sherry... and that voice from before... Now that I think about the blond, it did sound like her... If it was her, does that mean that she and Kaze have returned? Either that or my mind is playing tricks on me. "So, Ruka! Let's sign up! With one whole wish, we could do anything," Rua grinned.

"With one wish, someone could do extremely bad things... I guess we have no choice but to go, right," I asked.

"Yahoo! Let's hurry and sign up then!"

A wish, huh..? Anything in the world could basically be yours... Or... or any_one_. Oh, what am I saying! If I did win, which might not even happen, forcing Kaze to have feelings for me wouldn't mean anything... It'd be like getting a date with someone you like because they lost a bet. The love wouldn't be real, and it really wouldn't be worth it... I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I! Who says I'll even win? "Ruka! Come on! Hurry up and fill in your application," Rua said. I nodded before jumping off the chair and grabbing a pen from the drawer.

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><p><em>Two days later...<em>

"This'll be fun, right, Ruka," Rua asked as he rested his head on his arms, which were placed behind his head.

"If by fun, you mean scary, then yes," I muttered as I looked around at the trees around us, which were most likely covered or filled with a bunch of bugs.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you, no problem! After all, I am a Signer now," Rua grinned, causing me to sigh. As much as I should correct him that being a Signer doesn't make you instantly stronger or anything, I let it slide.

"We should just focus on getting done with the first round of this tournament so we can get out of this forest," I said.

"It shouldn't be too hard. I mean, beat four people and get to the gate? There were plenty of participants! The rules even say we have to duel on sight, unless we want to make a little team! It'll be easy," Rua said.

"If you lose once though, you're done... People will be gone like flies," I muttered.

"What kinda attitude is that? Let's go and look for someone we know! Then you'll be less worried, right," Rua asked.

"But we didn't know anyone at the opening ceremony," I pointed out.

"There were at least ten people who didn't show their face! It could be Jack or someone else," Rua said.

"It could also be someone like a pro and we'll be forced to fight," I said, causing Rua to puff his cheeks at me for being pessimistic.

"Excuse me... Would you two happen to be Rua and Ruka," a voice asked, causing both me and my twin to turn. As luck would have it, it was one of the people who didn't show their face at the opening ceremony. I'm pretty sure that under the large cloak, there was a boy who was around Sherry's age, due to the height and voice.

"It depends on who wants to know," Rua said and defensively stepped forward.

"I don't think anyone here is out to hurt us, Rua... We don't have to be so defensive," I muttered.

"She's right. All I want is a simple duel with the girl," the teen said.

"W-with me," I asked.

"No way! Duel me instead," Rua shouted.

"If she doesn't duel, she'll never get past the first round anyway. Why not get a duel for yourself so early in the running," the teen asked.

"Ruka," Rua asked. I nodded. He had a point. If I hid behind Rua, then I'd never get a shot at seeing the rest of the hidden contestants, who very well might be Kaze or Sherry. I wouldn't be able to win this so called wish to keep it out of the wrong hands either.

"I won't go easy on you. After all, a wish is at stake."

_[**Ruka:** 4000 LP / **?:** 4000 LP]_

"I'll take the lead," the cloaked teen said before picking up his first draw. "I'll start off with Rescue Cat in attack mode!" _[**Attack:** 300]_ A sting of familiarity went through me. Rescue Cat... It was one of his cards... Kaze's. That didn't mean anything though! Anyone could use Rescue Cat! It was a pretty good card, after all! "I'll use Rescue Cat's effect! I can send it to the Cemetery in order to summon two Level 3 or lower Beast-Type monsters," the teen shouted, giving me an even more chilling feeling... If he chose the same monsters that Kaze usually chose... "Lock Cat and X-Saber Airbellum!" _[**Lock Cat:** Attack: 1200] [**X-Saber Airbellum:** Attack: 1600]_ This was all too fast... Finding Kaze within the first hour of this tournement...? That's highly unlikely! It just has to be an uncanny coincident, that's all! Its not like he'll... "I tune my two monsters together! _He who was born from the blizzards of the past! Break your frozen shackles and freeze all who dare get in your path! Synchro Summon, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary_," the teen shouted as his monsters united to form who I've recognized as Kaze's Ace Monster, the smart and tactical Sea-Serpent, Brionac.

"Ruka! Do you think that's-," Rua started.

"It has to be...! These combos! These monsters! It all points to him being Kaze," I said. As a response to my accusation, the teen ripped off his cloak.

"Kaze! Its Kaze," Rua cheered.

No. That's a lie. This was for sure not Kaze. It was easy for me to point out the differences... Rua probably couldn't notice them because he only saw Kaze as a friend, or possibly even rival in dueling, and hasn't seen him in a whole week, which was a long time in Rua's standers. To start off, I would have recognized Kaze's voice from the start if it was truly him. His voice was about the normal voice for a male, but this person had more of a high pitched voice. Kaze had brown hair that went a little beneath his ears; this person had their hair bundled up under an identical red hat. To go along with the hat, it was tilted extremely low, as to cast a dark shadow over nearly half his face, where as Kaze usually only covered his eyes. Kaze's treasured three bar necklace, as well as his one small piercing on his right wear were missing as well. This person was a clear imposter to anyone who truly knew Kaze.

"Nice to see you two again," the imposter smiled.

"Don't lie to us! Who are you," I shouted.

"I'm Kaze. How can't you recognize me," the imposter asked.

"I said don't lie to me! I want answers," I snapped, my fingers clenched tightly around the cards in my hand.

"If its answers you want, don't you think we should solve this through a duel," the teen asked.

"H-hey! Just what's going on here! That's not Kaze," Rua asked.

"I'll end my turn with just this. Let's see what you can manage," my opponent smiled, only pushing my urge to find out the answers even more. With that in mind, I drew my card.

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><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- Cemetery is the Graveyard in Japanese. I'm using the Japanese terms for the cards since I'm using the Japanese names. Going along with the Cemetery, Brionac is also 'Ice Barrier' in the English cards, but 'Ice Boundary' in Japanese. After more cards appear, I'll make a more organized table for this than just listing them./

- The wish thing seems kind of far fetched, but you can either go along with it or be entirely skeptical of the entire thing. I think in Duel Transer, the player was promised to be world known or something if they won the tournament, which lured everyone in, so I had to find something else that would lure duelists in..

- For Hat Guy's appearance, I've decided to go up with the Tag Force 5 official image, where he has an ear ring/ect. I'm not sure if its just one ear or not, but I'm just going with it...

- I realize the story kind of goes from a calm intro to an interesting scene pretty fast, but I'm pretty sure that you'd enjoy that more than sending off an application, getting accepting, getting on a plane, getting to an island, getting a speech, and then getting sent off to a random part of an island... The speech is probably the only interesting thing, but its all basically the rules, which is what the twins describe at the first part of the tournament. Its not like you missed who the sponsor was either because they used an intercom, so it was basically the twins and a bunch of strangers/ cloaked/masked people.


	2. Old Friend

"Ruka," Rua shouted as I staggered back a few feet from the blow. _[**Ruka:** 400 LP]_

"Its nothing... I'm fine, honestly," I said as I turned towards my brother for a second before returning my gaze to my opponent. He may look nothing like Kaze, but he sure could duel as good as him...But.. He lacked that... I dunno, '_Oomph_' though. His attacks had no meaning. His cards didn't tell me anything... Just more reasons why this truly wasn't Kaze.

"I'd just surrender now. Then I can be on my way," Kaze's imposter said, still acting as smug as he has since the start of the duel, not receiving a single blow to him. Add another difference to the list...

Before the imposter could say anymore, a card lodged into his shoulder, startling not only him, but my twin and I as well. The two of us were even more surprised as electricity started shooting out of the wound, causing the imposter to curse before clutching his shoulder and running away, ending the duel.

"A card," Rua asked, slowly looking around for the assailant. As much as I'd like to say its Sherry, due to the deadly aim and power to the card, I probably shouldn't get my hopes up with all of the imposters that are apparently running around. It didn't take me too long to spot a masked woman with a brown cloak over her shoulders standing in the trees though, who easily jumped down beside my brother and I. Without a word, she took the white mask with a red sun on it off before shaking her head slightly to get her hair out of her face. "Hey! You aren't an imposter, are you," Rua demanded.

"Who exactly would I be a copy of," the girl asked, causing Rua to go quiet. The girl seemed to be around two years older than Rua and I, but she was only a few inches taller than us. Her hair was a blue shade that was nearing purple and was a few centimeters from the ground, and her eyes were a light brown. I don't know why, but she struck me as familiar. Not as in an old friend familiar, but like someone you've heard of familiar... Purple-blue hair... brown eyes...

_'When I was in Duel Academy, I had a real close friend! She was really nice! Her name was..."_

"Rei Saotome," I muttered. That's who Kaze's old friend was! He talked about her a few times when someone asked about his Duel Academy days, but that was really it...

"Ruka...? What is it," Rua asked.

"Do I know you," Rei asked, her hands rested on her hips.

"No, but I'm Kaze's friend." Rei froze at that, causing me to bite my lip. Did I say something wrong? Are those two not friends anymore?

"You... You know him," Rei asked softly. I nodded, and Rei didn't say anything after that.

"Hey! Hey! What's going on," Rua asked quickly looking between Rei and I as if he would give him an answer.

"That's good! I heard he fought some nasty guy trying to take over the world! I'm glad he's alive," Rei smiled.

"How come everyone knows what's going on here but me," Rua pouted.

"I guess I should give a proper introduction," Rei muttered. "I'm Rei Saotome! I'm a graduate from the original Duel Academy, and I used to be a cheer leader for Jack when he was still '_King_'," Rei grinned.

"Cheer leader," I asked, remembering back to when Rua would eagerly watch the matches between Jack and whoever his opponent was.

"So you were super close to Jack then, huh," Rua asked.

"Not really. We just smiled and waved our pom poms around," Rei giggled, causing Rua to sigh disappointingly. "But we shouldn't sit here talking. All the spots are going to be filled, and then where would we be," Rei asked.

"Spots," Rua asked.

"Only twenty people will advance to the next round. The rest are kicked off the island, remember," I said.

"But we just started! No one is going to beat four duelists that fast," Rua said.

"On the contraire, ten duelists have already made it to the finish with actually six wins each, believe it or not," Rei said as she pulled out what seemed to be a phone.

"Wah! We don't even have one duel won! What are we going to do," Rua shouted before running in circles, screaming about how we'd lose.

"How many wins do you have, Rei," I asked.

"I'm actually going for my last one, but it seems like you two are something else entirely," Rei murmured as she watched my screaming twin.

"I, uh... I'd just ignore him... He should get over it in a minute," I said.

"You know, you two remind me of some friends from DA," Rei giggled with one hand over her mouth.

"Who would that be," I asked.

"You two are like Kaze and me," Rei said.

"We are," Rua shouted, taking a break from his screaming.

"Yup! Ruka here is a lot like Kaze," Rei smiled, causing me to blush slightly at the thought. I... I was like Kaze? How could I be like him! I mean, he saved the world after all, and I just sat there, practically! "Judai and the others, including me, I guess, used to be pretty crazy during the first few years, and Kaze was always trying to either calm us down or ignore us," Rei muttered, looking towards the ground as if it would help her remember the distant past.

"_Cool!_ I wanna hear all about Kaze when he was in Duel Academy," Rua shouted.

"Don't you two have a couple duels to win," Rei asked.

"Gah! You're right! C'mon, Ruka! Let's hurry up," Rua shouted and started jogging in place as if it would help us move faster.

"I'll see you two later then, in the second round," Rei said before taking her leave. Rei, huh...? Maybe I'm just being a little too skeptical because of Sherry, but being a _'close friend' _from long ago... She wouldn't like Kaze too, would she?

"C'mon, c'mon! We're not gonna make it to the next round if we sit here all day," Rua shouted before running off, causing me to sigh.

"Running off like that won't help," I said, knowing my eager brother couldn't hear me.

"Hey, hey! Lookie here! This brat looks pretty weak," a voice said, causing me to turn as two males, both probably around seventeen, approach me.

"I saw her first! It'll be my win," the brown haired male argued.

"Well I was the one who got here first," his red headed friend protested.

"Ruka! Come on already," Rua shouted before running from the forest and back to my side, not noticing the two bickering friends beside me. "We have to find some opponent-," Rua started.

"I told you, she's my opponent," the two teens shouted.

"Awesome! You found two guys for us," Rua said, causing the two to quiet down.

"Hey! There's another weak one," the red head said.

"I'm not weak," Rua snapped.

"Rua, do you want to make this a tag duel? That way we can both get two wins," I asked.

"Hey, why didn't I think of that," the brown haired teen shouted.

"Let's just duel already so we can go. These two are giving me a headache," Rua sighed.

"We'll be giving you a headache alright!"

"That's not a good thing, you dult!"

"Forget it! Let's just get going already!"

_"Duel!"  
><em>

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><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

_bryan102694: _Have I really become that predictable with the plot..? I actually just used this due to the fact that Duel Transer, they also use robots as an alternative to making characters, or whatever it was. I am just using the idea of robots to avoid making oc's in this.

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><p><em><span>Notes:<span>___

_-_ Not all duels are just going to be skipped like this... But I see these as minor ones and I'm thus not including them (as I did in Jealousy) Once the minor characters are out of the way, then it'll be actual duels.

- Since Hat Guy in TF 4/5/6 is the same, in my view, as Hat Guy in TF 1/2/3, and I needed another character in here that wouldn't interfere with 5D's original plot, I thought, why not add in the 5Ds version of Rei. During the first episode of 5D's, there was also a cheerleader who shared similar traits to her, to the point of where they probably are the same person, so I figured it worked out okay. Rei will be the only person from GX that shows up in this story though._  
><em>


	3. Coincidences

"Sweet! That's the last one," Rua grinned as his now defeated opponent sulked off towards the docks.

"Now all that's left is finding our way to the finish line," I muttered, sticking close to Rua in case another duelist jumped out and demanded a duel. Much to my surprise, the people we had been challenged by hadn't been much of a challenge. I know it sounds horribly rude, but... I guess they weren't a challenge because of all that Rua and I have been through. If any other person dueled them, it'd probably be tough... Dueling against Lucciano and Aporia, as well as all of the other adversaries, normal duelists just didn't seem to compare.

"Let's hurry up and go! Those last guys took a little more time, and we can't be late," Rua shouted before grabbing my wrist and dragging me off against my will.

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><p>"Hey! Rua! Ruka," Rei called out before jogging over to Rua and I, who couldn't say anything because we were struggling to get breathing normal again. "Uh... Did you guys run around the island a few times," Rei asked.<p>

"We... we got lost," Rua managed to say before he continued panting.

"You do know that you just had to be one of the first twenty to win four times, right...? You didn't have to beat four people and then be one of the first twenty here," Rei said, instantly crushing our spirits. "B-but hey! N-no harm done, right! We all just get to go to the hotel earlier," Rei panicked.

"Hotel," Rua asked.

"Did you guys pay any attention to the opening speech," Rei sighed, causing Rua to laugh nervously. "Not only are you given the chance at a wish, you are treated like royalty here. All you can eat food and every-," Rei started, but as soon as she said '_eat food'_, Rua was already darting for the blond man in a suit for directions to the hotel.

"Hey Rei. Did you see Kaze here," I asked.

"Kaze isn't in the listings as a finalist, or even a competitor," Rei muttered as she pulled out the cell phone like device once more.

"What is that, actually," I asked.

"Its a phone with internet connection. This tournament is pretty big, and everyone is talking about it," Rei said as she continued to press the buttons on her phone, causing me to wonder if the hotel gave of internet connection or if Rei's phone was just that strong.

"Is there a 'Sherry LeBlanc' on the list," I asked.

"Nope. Nothing that rings a bell in here," Rei said, causing me to sigh.

"So much for Kaze being in this tournament," I muttered.

"Attention, all of the remaining finalists. Please proceed to the hotel and relax for the matches tomorrow," the same blond man Rua went to said, causing the crowd to slowly thin out.

"So we've got a couple hours to relax and work with our decks, huh," Rei asked softly as she put her phone away.

"Hey, Rei... I know you were Kaze's old classmate, but how else do you know him," I asked.

"Here's the deal! We've got some free time, so I tell you about me and Kaze and in turn, you'll tell me about you and him," Rei smiled. "Unless, you two are too intimate to share," Rei whispered, causing my face to turn red.

"W-what's that supposed to mean! W-we're just friends," I shouted.

"Sheesh, don't take things so literally all the time! As a fellow_ 'Maiden in Love'_, I feel your pain," Rei smiled as she ruffled my hair. _'Maiden in love'_...? Does she really have a crush on Kaze?

"_May, Muka! Moo vaf voo mai vis vood_," a voice shouted, causing me to hesitantly turn, seeing my twin's mouth jam packed with lord knows what.

"Does... he always eat that much," Rei asked.

"You'd be surprised," I muttered.

"You know, know he reminds me of-," Rei started when Rua grabbed his throat and his face turned slightly blue. "That idiot! He ate too much," Rei shouted.

"R-Rua," I shouted before joining Rei in running over to Rua's side.

"Just hold on! I'll go and get a-," Rei started when Rua gave a few violent coughs, coughing up... whatever it was he shoved down his throat.

"_Phew!_ I thought I was gonna die there," Rua grinned, not noticing that he coughed the food all over Rei, who looked like she was going to pounce or Rua for what he did, but managed to calm down by sighing, grumbling a few complaints, and squeezing the bridge of her nose.

"I'll have to catch up with you two later. I'm going to go change clothes," Rei mumbled before taking her leave.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Rua," I asked.

"Yeah! I'm A-OK," Rua smiled. "But why is Rei going to come find us later," Rua asked.

"She wanted to talk about Kaze," I said.

"Sweet! I wanna hear all about Kaze when he was in Da! I bet he was one of those nerds! Or maybe he was a punk! Or, or maybe... Maybe," Rua trailed off.

"Or maybe he was the same as he is now," I asked, causing Rua to go silent, as if the option was nearly impossible. "And instead of guessing, couldn't we just wait for Rei," I asked.

"Yeah! We can wait in the food court," Rua cheered.

"You nearly choked and you already want more," I asked.

"Duh! It was so good, I had to get a mouth full," Rua said.

"Fine... We have to wait for Rei to clean her clothes anyway," I said.

"Yahoo," Rua cheered before running off towards the hotel. I was about to join him when I saw someone staring at me. He was one of the few that didn't both wearing a mask or cloak. He had shaggy black hair and wore a sleeveless red jacket and baggy black pants. He simply pushed up his glasses before walking away towards the hotel as well, leaving me somewhat stunned. "C'mon, Ruka! Let's move," Rua called out, causing the black haired teen to look up and back towards me, a slight bit of surprise in his eyes, which he quickly covered by pushing up his glasses once more, letting the suns reflection from his glasses hide his eyes. I tried to push the boy out of my mind as I ran towards Rua and the hotel, but as I passed him, I couldn't help but look over.

I nearly stopped on the spot, letting him briskly walk past me and into the hotel. It was just a coincidence that he had the same duel disk as Kaze's imposter, right...? And that he nearly had the same eyes as Kaze...? If not, I guess Rua and I will have to keep one eye open tonight...


	4. Rei Vs James

To be forewarned, if you don't know, I used the Tag Force games in order to make my duels, so the ban lists will be different than current ones. This duel was made in Tag Force 3, so it had it's default ban list.

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><p>"Hey! Hey! Before you start, you gotta tell us if Kaze was a nerd or not," Rua shouted, causing Rei to turn towards me with a <em>'Is he serious'<em> look.

"I'd just ignore him... He's kind of fixated on the fact that Kaze might have been a nerd," I said. Rei hesitantly nodded.

"Well, before I start talking, I'm going to take the guess that you guys will have no idea who I'm talking about! That's why I brought over my photo collection from Kaze and the others' last year," Rei said and started fumbling through her light blue knapsack before pulling up a small black book. Rua took the liberty of grabbing the book and flipping through the pages without waiting to see if it was alright, so I decided I would just peer over his shoulders and absorb in the faces and the names that Rei wrote beside them. I could name a few of the people based off of their faces though. Any true Duel Academy student could name the heroes of the original Duel Academy. Judai Yuki; Sho Marufuji; Jun Manjoume; Asuka Tenjouin; and that's just the beginning.

"Hey... How come Kaze is hardly in any of these pictures," I asked.

"That's because Kaze was a shy little guy! He always wanted to take the pictures," Rei smiled as she skimmed over the pictures as well, probably recalling the fun times at Duel Academy.

I had to agree with the shy part. Any picture that Kaze was actually in was a natural shot. It was probably better that way though, since it gave Rua and I a clear view on Kaze's attitude and everything about him during the time. In most of the pictures, he had the people I mentioned a while ago, Judai and the others, all around him and they were goofing off. Kaze still had his usual all red apparel, which meant he must have been in the Osiris Dorm, just like I am, although, without the whole dorm thing. What I noted was that the cap he was wearing was the exact same one that was hanging from Kaze's coat rack.

"That's no fun! Kaze looks like a popular guy! Not a nerd at all," Rua pouted.

"Believe it or not, Kaze used to skip class some times. He made it up by doing awesome on the tests though," Rei said.

"So he was a punk," Rua asked eagerly, still on the punk or nerd assumption.

"I wouldn't say a punk... Judai wasn't a punk, and he skipped too," Rei muttered. "I would say carefree is the right word," Rei smiled before letting Rua and I keep flipping through the pages of the photo album.

Once we had finished, Rua closed the book and handed it back to Rei, who put it back in her knapsack. "So, you ready for some fun story telling," Rei asked. Rua was about to groan, but I gave him a quick and light jab and he kept quiet. "Alright then! It all started on the day I came to Duel Academy..."

* * *

><p>I felt my eyes drift over to the clock, noting that nearly an hour of avid conversation had passed. "Well, I guess I should be getting back to my room. Gotta prepare for the next round, ya know," Rei asked and pushed herself off the floor before wiping off the wrinkles in her clothes.<p>

"Well, thanks for coming," I said.

"Yeah! I had no idea Kaze was so cool," Rua cheered, in which Rei giggled before nodding slightly, picking up her bag, and walking out the door.

I never knew that Kaze was always this talented at dueling... Even in his duel academy days, he was still one of the best there was. Apparently up to Judai Yuki's level right from the start, or pretty darn close... That had to take a lot of practice. To top it all off, he also saved the world during his time at Duel Academy as well. He helped stop the... What did Rei call them...? _'Seven Stars Assassins'_, right? Their leader even had all of the Three Phantom Demons! He also tried to sacrifice a bunch, if not all duel spirits, just to be young again... Then after that, Kaze and the others were taken to another dimension, where he had to fight Judai again, but he was enveloped with darkness. To think of the courage that it would have to take... To see your friend possessed by darkness and one by one take down your friends. I don't think I could stay there, to be honest... Then even still, after that, a boy who could insert himself into memories came along, which Kaze also had to beat, but this time with the help of Judai. There was always trouble for Kaze, huh...? "Hey Ruka," Rua asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Rei seems really strong... If she's our opponent, I dunno how we'll get past tomorrow," Rua muttered.

"Rei may be strong, but you're just as strong, Rua... Don't worry. You'll do great," I smiled and gave my twin a light hug.

"You'll do good too! We'll both get to the finals, and then we'll battle each other! Then either way, we can have the wish," Rua grinned, in which I nodded. "Alright! Let's get some sleep so we can be all ready for tomorrow," Rua said, in which I nodded once more.

* * *

><p>"Well, welcome, you young duelists who manages to get to the true first round," the same blond man from yesterday said. I felt my eyes wander in order to search for Rei in the crowd, but I didn't see her. To top it off, I didn't see the boy from yesterday either. Was he not a contestant...?<p>

As if on cue, the black haired teen walked over to the blond man and whispered a few things in his ear. "Huh..? Is that so? Bring her here. We'll show her as an example," the man muttered, in which the teen nodded before walking off.

"What do you think that's about," Rua asked softly. I just shrugged, although since the man said 'She', I wouldn't put it past this tournament to pull a copy Sherry out out of no where, seeing as they let a fake Kaze sneak in. Instead of guessing though, as Rua probably was, I figured it would be better to just wait for the black haired teen to return.

To say the least, I was surprised when the boy returned, occasionally giving the dark blue haired girl in front of him a shove to make her move faster. "Rei," Rua shouted, getting us a few glares from the contestants ahead.

"This girl was found snooping around last night, which you know is extremely rude and forbidden. We aren't going to do anything too drastic, but as a punishment, she will duel in front of all of you, letting you see her deck," the man said, getting the small crowd we were in to stir.

"What was she doing," I asked.

"Yeah...! Why would she be snooping around," Rua asked.

"So without further or do, young James here will duel Miss. Saotome, as he has plenty of decks to use as to her one," the man said. We all moved out of the way so that the two duelists could stand across from each other, duel disks activated. Everyone else was interested in Rei's skills... I was interested in this boy's. This might be my chance to find everything about him out.  
><em><br>[James: 4000 LP/ Rei: 4000 LP]_

"Since you're on trial here, I'll take the lead," James muttered and picked up the first draw. "I'll set four cards face down and summon Mad Lobster in attack," James shouted before the large lobster appeared in front of him, clapping its claws a few times at Rei. _[**Attack:** 1700]_

A few chatters broke into the crowd. Most of them were something along the lines of 'Why is he wearing all red if he duels with a Water deck?' I knew Kaze, so I knew better than to put that stereotype on people based on what they wore. Apparently James did too.

"Its a simple test. All of you who are saying I should be using a fire deck are simple minded," James said, causing the same people who spoke up to get agitated. "That's all," James said before things could escalate.

"Its my move then," Rei said. "I activate Pain of the Leader! Your monsters lose 100 attack for each of their levels," Rei shouted as she threw the card into her duel disk, causing James's monster to slowly lower, as if the gravity grew heavier. _[**Attack:** 1300]_"I'll end my turn with a face down monster and two face downs," Rei muttered.

"I somewhat expected more of a turn around," James noted as he started picking up his card. Rei suddenly flung her arm out, causing him to pause.

"Trap Activate! Blessing of God! With this, I gain 500 life points every time I draw a card," Rei said, causing her opponent to sigh before continuing to pick up his card.

"I'll tribute Mad Lobster in order to Tribute Summon Ice Emperor Mebius," James said. I had a flash back from a few weeks ago. Didn't the man who challenge Kaze at the restaurant use this card...? _[**Attack:** 1600]_ "I'll use Mebius' effect to destroy your Pain of the Leader and your face down!_ Freeze Burst_," James shouted as Mebius pulled back it's fists before charging forward and slamming through the cards, causing them to disappear. _[**Attack:** 2400]_ Rei clearly seemed distraught by this, but managed to quickly get her game face back on. "Attack her face down monster! _Ice Lance_," James continued. This time, Mebius held it's hand out and water solidified to make a lance, which it threw towards the card. The lance pierced the card and a small marshmallow like monster popped out _[**Defense:** 500]_

"Too bad for you! Marshmallon isn't destroyed, and he deals 1000 points of damage when he's flipped over with an attack," Rei shouted as the lance rebounded and faded through James. _[**James:** 3000 LP]_

"Then you can go," James said.

"Awesome! Rei's gotten 1000 already done! And this James guy didn't get anything in," Rua said.

"But its only the fourth turn now. I doubt this guy will go down this easy," I said. Especially since he may be a copy of Kaze, having the same duel disk... He doesn't have anything else in common besides the eyes though.

"Due to Blessing of God, I gain 500 Life points during this draw," Rei said. _[**Rei:** 4500 LP]_ "Then I'll summon The Unhappy Girl in Attack Mode," Rei shouted. _[**Attack:** 400 LP]_ Once more, the crowd started talking, and even Rua did this time.

"Hey, why did she summon such a weak monster in attack," Rua asked.

"She has to have a plan. I know she does," I muttered, staring at Rei's opponent who was still calmly assessing the situation, figuring the exact same thing.

"I'll set one card face down and that's all," Rei finished.

"My move then," James said. "I summon Grizzly Mother in attack," James continued before a large blue bear appeared before him. _[**Attack:** 1400]_ "I'll continue with Mebius attacking The Unhappy Girl! _Ice Lance_," James shouted as his monster prepared it's lance once more.

"I activate Holy Javelin! I can gain the attack of your monster in life points before your attack goes though," Rei shouted as the face down flipped over, enveloping the lance in a bright light._ [**Rei:** 6900 LP]_ Rei's monster survived the bow, just like last time, but this time some of the cold wind flew against her, knocking her life points back down. _[**Rei:** 4900 LP]_ There was a pause from James' side, and since I was avidly watching the teenage duelist, I could see that he clasped his wrist for a split second before flinging his hand out once more.

"Grizzly Mother! Attack The Unhappy Girl as well," he quickly shouted. The blue bear gave a roar of approval before charging forward and slicing at the long red headed duel monster. _[**Rei:** 3900 LP]_ "That'll be all," James muttered. Rei picked up her card and quickly flinched. _[**Rei:** 4400 LP]_

"I guess that's it," Rei said.

"Oh no! Rei'll lose 2000 from Mebius, another 1000 from Grizzly Mother, and if he gets another monster, Rei's done," Rua panicked.

"I'll summon Stealthy Approach Devil Manta to start off," James said as a light blue manta ray appeared in front of him beside his other monsters._ [**Attack:** 1300]_ "Stealthy Approach Devil Manta! Attack The Unhappy Girl," James shouted. The monster charged forward and dove through Rei's monster, phasing through Rei as well before returning to its owner. _[**Rei:** 3500 LP]  
><em>  
>"The Unhappy Girl's effect prevents-," Rei started.<p>

"I know. I can't attack again as long as your monster is in attack mode," James said, startling Rei.

"So that's why Rei didn't change it's position," Rua muttered. He knew Rei's cards...? Or did he know every card...?

"So with that in mind, take your move," James said. Rei slowly took her draw, as if it would change her luck that she's been having. Although she managed to keep a poker face this time, you could still tell she didn't have a good card. _[**Rei:** 4000 LP]_

"That's will be it," Rei said.

"I'll set a monster face down, as well as a card, and that'll be all for me as well," James said.

"Not so fun having no good cards, huh," Rei asked as she picked up her card. _[**Rei:** 4500 LP]_

"I wouldn't say 'No good'," James said and pressed a button on his duel disk, revealing the trap Dust Tornado. "I'll destroy Blessing of God," James continued.

"I'll set one card then and that will end my turn," Rei said.

"My move th-," James started but Rei smile and flung her arm out, enjoying that she was nearly causing him to jump a foot when she activated a trap during his Draw Phase. "I'll activate a second Blessing of God," Rei said. James just twitched before looking towards someone in the crowds, who I couldn't pin point.

"That'll be all," James muttered. Rei picked up her draw. _[**Rei:** 5000 LP]_

"I'll set one card face down and that's that," Rei said.

"You just keep enjoying your life points," James mumbled as he picked up his card. "That's my turn," James said. Rei clutched her cards in her hands, clearly thinking that James was toying with her.

"My move," Rei shouted. _[**Rei:** 5500 LP]_ "I'll activate Pain of the Leader once more," Rei said._ [**Grizzly Mother:** **Attack:** 1000] [**Mebius:** **Attack:** 1800] [**Stealthy Approach Devil Manta: Attack:** 1000]_"That's it," Rei finished. James picked up his card.

"I'll start with flipping my face down monster into attack," James said as a light erupted out of his card, revealing a woman with a trident. _[**Attack:** 300]_ I believe it was Sea God's Priestess... "That's my move," James said. Rei picked up her card and gained a faint smile. _[**Rei:** 6000 LP]_  
>"I activate the Field Spell Shinespark. With it in play, all light monsters gain 500 Attack, but also lose 400 Defense," Rei said as a white light enveloped the area around us.<em> [<strong>The Unhappy Girl: Attack:<strong> 900] [**Marshmallon: Defense:** 100]_ "The Unhappy Girl! Take out Sea God's Priestess," Rei shouted.

To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't see something coming. James summoned a monster weaker than Rei's, Shinespark or no Shinespark. "Trap activate! Dimensional Imprisonment," James said as a purple portal appeared between the two monsters, sucking the attacking monster up and leaving James' monster untouched.

"Now James' monsters can attack the next turn," Rua muttered.

"But it doesn't matter. Marshmallon can't be destroyed," I pointed out.

"That's all," Rei said. James drew his card.

"I activate Fissure to destroy Marshmallon," James said, noticeably causing Rua, of all people, to clench his hands with excitement and worry. "Then I'll summon Mermaid Knight," James continued before a pink haired mermaid with a sword appeared._** [Attack:** 1100]_"Mebius! Attack Rei with-," James started.

"I activate my trap, Holy Barrier - Mirror Force," Rei shouted, causing Rua to start cheering as James' monsters were wiped out, and earning us a few glares from the participants who wanted to observe both James' and Rei's skills.

"Then you can go," James said.

"My go," Rei said. _[**Rei:** 6500 LP]_ "I activate Early Burial. By paying 800 life points, I can bring back a monster from my Cemetery," Rei shouted. _[**Rei:** 5700 LP]_ "I'll summon Marshmallon," Rei said and pulled the card out of her duel disk before placing it on a monster slot, causing the small marshmallow to appear once more. _[**Attack:** 800]_"Attack him directly," Rei snapped.

"Reactive Armor," James muttered as the trap destroyed Marshmallon.

"That's it then," Rei muttered, causing James to take his draw.

"I summon Grizzly Mother," James muttered, his hand subconsciously trailing to his wrist once more._ [**Attack:** 1000]_ "Attack her directly," James shouted. _[**Rei:** 4700 LP]_"That will be it," James said.

"My draw," Rei said. _[**Rei:** 5200 LP]_"That's all," Rei muttered.

"Rei's got really bad luck, huh," Rua asked.

"Either that or she's covering her real skills because people are watching," I said as James drew his draw once more.

"I summon Space Mambo in Attack Mode," James said as a blue mechanical fish appeared in front of him besides the blue bear. _[**Attack:** 1300]_"Space Mambo! Attack," James shouted.

This time, when the blow hit Rei, she staggered back a few feet. _[**Rei:** 3900 LP]_ "And Grizzly Mother, attack as well," James continued. Rei staggered back once more._ [**Rei:** 2900 LP]_ "That's my move," James said. Rei picked up a card. _[**Rei:** 3400 LP]_

"I summon Maiden in Love, who I'll equip with Cupid Kiss before ending my turn," Rei said as a brown haired bride appeared, giving an air kiss before calming down. So this is why Rei was saying 'Maiden in Love' all the time... This card must be her ace.

"My move," James muttered. "I activate Jar of Greed in order to draw two more cards," James said before picking up the extra cards. "I set two cards before summoning Mermaid Knight," James continued before the familiar monster appeared. _[**Attack:** 1100]_"Mermaid Knight! Attack Maiden in Love," James shouted.

"Unfortunately for you, Maiden in Love can't be destroyed, and your monster also gains a 'Maiden Counter' whenever it battles with her," Rei explained at the mermaid faded through the young bride, slicing against Rei as she finished talking. _[**Rei:** 3200 LP]  
><em>  
>"Then Grizzly Mother, attack as well," James shouted, his monster repeated what Mermaid Knight had done. <em>[<strong>Rei:<strong> 3100 LP]_ "Finally, Space Mambo, attack Maiden in Love," James said. _[**Rei:** 2700 LP]_"That's it," James said.

"Draw," Rei shouted. _[**Rei:** 3200 LP]_"Maiden in Love, attack-," Rei started.

"Claymore Mine," James said as an explosion enveloped the field, destroying Rei's monster.

"T-then that's it," Rei muttered.

"My-," James started when the blond man walked between the two.

"That's enough, you two. Its clear that you are the victor, James. No need to go any further. The duel has taken a while, so we must proceed with round one," the man said. James just sighed as Rei deactivated her duel disk, causing the monsters to disappear. "This round will be a repeat of the first, although this time, you will use these ropes to force whoever you see into a duel," the man said and pulled out what seemed to be an extremely long handcuff. "You can pick these up at the entrance to the forest. And also, during this round, we will only be eliminating five duelists. The last five duelists without a win will be disqualified from the tournament," the blond man said before walking over to James, whispering a few things to him, and taking his depart.

"Hey Rei," Rua shouted as he ran over to the blue haired teen. "Man, you were awesome! Did you see his combos? They were like... woah," Rua shouted.

"They were just like Kaze's," Rei muttered, causing me to pause.

"You mean Kaze from his Duel Academy days," I asked. Rei nodded before glaring towards James, who was simply returning his cards to his deck.

"He really has a duelist's spirit though. He isn't a robot," Rei muttered. "But we can talk later. We need to get going if we want to win," Rei said before jogging to the entrance.

"C'mon, Ruka! Let's-," Rua started.

"I'll be over in a minute," I muttered before finding myself walking over towards James. I stood next to him for a few seconds as he continued going through his cards, but it wasn't until he put his deck back in it's holder that he noticed me.

"What," he asked.

"Uh... Nice duel," I asked.

"Tha-," James started, but quickly twitched and looked away. "Whatever. Just leave me alone. I have some matches to win," James muttered before storming off, hands in his pocket. My eyes trailed towards his now blinking pocket due to the device on his wrist, but the blinking stopped after a few seconds.

"Ruka! Let's get in line before its too late," Rua called out. I slowly nodded before returning to my twin's side, still staring at James as he impatiently awaited his rope.

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- This duel was recycled from an old Hat Guy x Rei fan fiction I wrote. I wasn't on at the time, I think, or I didn't use it much, and I didn't like the story, but it was an actual duel, so I dug through my old files and dug it up. It was apparently was supposed to be for a dramatic moment/long duel because it was towards the final villain or something, I think... So anyway, its an old old duel...

- This duel took longs than any other duel I've written because the two actually use normal/fair decks.. Hardy har, I guess, but it took a long time to write and such... I guess computers were smarter in TF 3 *hit with a brick* Going along with the computers, Rei was played by the computer with her Maiden in Love deck.

- Kaze's life in duel academy was this:

(Year 1) Tag Force 1: Judai

(Year 2) Tag Force 2: Johan - Rei (This is the disguised version of Rei who is pretending to be a boy. Its put in Tag Force 2 even though its Tag Force 3) - Judai

(Year 3) Tag Force 3: Jun - Rei (Obelisk Blue) - Judai

Its just arranged like this because all of these can happen at the same time, seeing as they don't double graduation duels/ect. To find out what happened, you can just google the games and the wiki links give you an over view of what happened. If you want an in depth of what happened, I can give you what I can about them. Although I've lost my Tag Force 1... 2... and 3... I'm lame like that, but I have written down the events for Rei (Obelisk) for the most part... and Judai entirely. (From the old fan fiction) The rest are just an over view. So, if you'd want more about most/some of the events, just drop me a message and I can fill you in. The order they are listed on here is the order they are done in./

- The ropes for this chapter are like the ones that the Enforcers/Team Satisfaction used during their turf duels, as a visual image.

- Finally, I redid the poll as Rei is introduced and you have a better view of the relationship between the characters, so you can change your vote if you wanted to, in a way. As far as Rei's relationship with Kaze goes, its pretty much like an old classmate mixed with how she treated all of her crushes, which is how the game treated him.. I think.

* * *

><p>Since I use Japanese names, I also use Japanese card names, so this is the glossary for the cards uses that differ from the english name.<em><br>_

_Cards:_

Japanese - English

Pain of Leader - Burden of the Mighty  
>Blessing of God - Solemn Wishes<br>Ice Emperor Mebius - Mobius, the Frost Monarch  
>Grizzly Mother - Mother Grizzly<br>Stealthy Approach Devil Manta - Creeping Doom Manta  
>Sea God's Priestess - Maiden of the Aqua<br>Shinespark - Luminous Spark  
>Dimensional Imprisonment - Dimensional Prison<br>Holy Barrier - Mirror Force - Mirror Force  
>Reactive Armor - Sakuretsu Armor<br>Early Burial - Premature Burial  
>Claymore Mine - Widespread Ruin<p> 


	5. Scars

_~'I've given you what you want... So why aren't you happy...? Is it because your desires have now changed...? Do you still not want this...?'~_

* * *

><p>"These rope things are weird, huh," Rua asked, although he was perfectly happy playing by swinging the rope around like some sort of cowboy.<p>

"I don't like them... There's no way to uncuff them once you put them on, it looks like... I'd prefer to not use them at all," I muttered.

"Its not an option though... They wouldn't give them if they were an option," Rua mumbled. Rua's eyes suddenly widened. "R-Ruka," he shouted, causing me to quickly turn, expecting a sneak attack from someone, but all I saw was James standing by a tree, hands in his pockets.

"James," I asked.

"What do you want with us," Rua demanded.

"I don't think this is your island. I can go where I want," James said.

"You wanna-," Rua started, but I shot him a glance and he reluctantly went silent.

"Its not like James wants to duel us... He has the rope as well, and since he isn't trapping us," I trailed off.

"That's right. I'm here because I don't want you two in this tournament," James said.

"W-what," I asked.

"Yeah! What's that about! You scared we're gonna beat ya or something," Rua snapped.

"Just forget it. If you can't see the reasoning, then keep on trucking," James muttered and started walking away.

"H-hey-," I started when James quickly turned around. The next thing I knew, I was shoved to the ground with James on his knees over me.

"Whaddya think your doing," Rua shouted, who was probably too upset by James tackling me to notice a small arrow lodged in the ground beside us, which was covered in James' blood. "I said-," Rua started when James sat back on his legs and clutched his side, where his sweatshirt was torn.

"Rua! We have to help him," I said.

"Help him? How," Rua asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," James muttered.

"You're hurt, like it or not! You can't wander around with a cut like that," I said. James was about to argue, but I took a deep breath before grabbing the bottom of his sweatshirt, causing him to start blushing.

"W-what are you doing," James asked as he pulled his sweatshirt down.

"We have to treat the wound! It'll get infected and who knows what else here," I said before brushing his hand aside and continuing to pull his sweatshirt off, which was a little difficult because he kept trying to pull it back down. Once I managed to get it halfway off, I couldn't help but let go entirely, causing James to give me a glare as he pulled his sweatshirt down.

No, it wasn't the initial shock that a girl would get by seeing a guy without a shirt. It was that James had a scar in the exact spot that Kaze did. It was a few months ago, wasn't it...? When Kaze protected me from Lucciano and Placcido... I didn't know that it scarred until a few weeks ago though. But still! Having the same eyes as Kaze... Having the same scars, same skills...

"What's your problem? First your trying to strip me, now you're just being quiet," James said, interrupting my thoughts.

"She was trying to treat your wound," Rua snapped.

"I said I didn't need treating," James growled before the two broke out in an argument.

Of course, Kaze wasn't this easy to agitate... And he didn't argue this much. He actually acted like Sherry...

I only turned back to the arguing boys beside me when James staggered back. I prepared to scold Rua, suspecting they broke out into a fist fight, but I saw James was clutching his wrist. More specifically, the device flashing on his arm. Instead of flashing green like before, it was now flashing red.

"Great... I'm running out of time," James muttered.

"Time for what? The round isn't timed," Rua said.

"Just hurry up and duel me," James shouted as he activated his duel disk, taking Rua and I by surprise.

"Hold on a second," a familiar voice shouted, causing James to hesitantly deactivate his duel disk as Rei walked towards us.

"What do you want," James asked.

"You already have a win, don't you? If you want a duel so badly, let these two go and get their win while we duel," Rei said.

"I don't care who it is, just get ready," James shouted, causing both of them to activate their duel disks.

"Rei! Do you think you can handle him," I asked.

"Yeah! Look at how your duel with him before went! He knows your deck," Rua said.

"I'm not as nice as you think I am," Rei smiled before pulling her jacket open and pulling out another deck.

"You lied to us," James asked.

"You should have known that every true duelist has more than one deck," Rei said as she swapped the two decks. "Now you two go on. I'll handle James here," Rei said.

"Alright! Let's go, Rua," I said, in which my twin nodded before we ran off, the sound of the duel behind us still echoing for a few minutes. What Rei said was true. She clearly had another deck; This one was full of Lightlords, and seems to easily keep in par against James'...

Just one win... That's all I had to manage... And all Rei had to manage against James... This shouldn't be too hard, right...?

* * *

><p><em>~'Humans are so fickle with desires... So fickle that its almost sad, wouldn't you say...? After all... If you hadn't been so fickle...'~<em>

* * *

><p><em>Notes:<em>

- Try not to think into beginning and ending notes. They won't make sense no matter how you look at them until later...

- Lightlords is the Japanese version of the Lightsworn monsters, as a note.

- If you haven't been able to tell, I'm not really interested in tournament rounds, so I'm kind of skipping the boring parts... The story gets much more interesting, fluent, and over all better after the tournament finishes the starting stages_, _or at least from my view it does.

* * *

><p><em>Reviews:<em>

bryan102694: As I said before, Rei will be the only GX character that is returning.


	6. Introductions

_"What are you doing...? You are wasting time. Do I need to give you something even better...? Or are you greedy...?"_

* * *

><p>I couldn't help but sigh as I stared at the four walls, waiting for Rua to finish taking his shower. Apparently, we managed to scrape by another round, only beating one other person before the cut was made. Rua and I returned to where Rei was after getting our wins, but she wasn't there. That's how we ended up back in our hotel room, with absolutely nothing to do. Nothing to do, that is, until Rua's ringtone went off. Since he was in the shower, I figured I might as well answer it. "Hello," I asked.<p>

"Guys! You'll never guess what happened," Rei's voice shouted.

"What is it," I asked.

"James fainted in our duel, so I brought him to the infirmary here, but you'll never guess who else is here," Rei said. My hand clenched around Rua's phone quickly before I lowered it.

"Rua! I'm going out for a while," I shouted.

"Alright," Rua said over the shower before continuing to hum a song to himself.

"I'll be down in a few minutes, alright," I asked as I raised the phone to my ear once more.

"Alright, but hurry," Rei said before hanging up the phone. I could get my hopes up this time, right...? After all, Rei wouldn't mistake anyone else for Kaze! She was his classmate! But... she hasn't seen him for a few years... And who says it was even Kaze...? It may be Judai or whoever else was an old friend of her's... Well, there's only one way to find out, right...?

* * *

><p>"There you are! What took you so long," Rei sighed as I slowly opened the door the room I was told Rei was in. I quickly paused when I saw a brown haired teen lying unconscious on a bed next to James.<p>

"It... It really is him," I muttered, taking in every detail I could see to all that I could remember. The same ear ring, the same necklace, the same everything. Even the same duel disk. "How did he get here," I asked.

"I dunno. Just as I was setting James here down, some of the guards brought him in and left... They didn't come back. He seems pretty out of it, though," Rei said.

"But knowing Kaze, he'll probably wake up any minute now," I said as I glanced towards the clock. When I heard a creak from one of the beds, I turned back. James silently grabbed his glasses of the side table and slid them on before blinking a few times, probably not understanding why he was suddenly back at the hotel, and why both Rei and I were here.

"Uh.. Hi, James," I said. James just gave me a glare before putting his legs over the side of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going, mister," Rei asked.

"My room. Why would I stay here with a bunch of weaklings like you," James said.

"In case you forgot, this 'weakling' beat you in a duel," Rei said, causing my eyes to widen.

"You beat him," I asked.

"Well... Kinda," Rei said.

"I wouldn't say 'Kinda'. Our duel was interrupted because of a malfunction of my dueling momentum calculator, and you just happened to be in the lead," James said as he slowly looked at the device on his wrist, which I noticed had a small section that looked like it was burnt.

"If only Kaze was awake... I'm sure he could fix it for you," I said.

"And what makes you think that sleeping oaf over there could do anything," James asked.

It was at that point that I snapped, and I wasn't alone.

"How about you be quiet about what you don't know! Kaze is a better duelist than you and is smarter than you'll ever be," Rei shouted.

"That's right! In case you haven't heard, he is _the_ Kaze Kokoro! The one who beat Zone and saved Neo Domino, not to mention the whole world! Don't even get us started! He's accomplished more than you'll ever do in your whole life! _Seven Stars Assassins_, Fujiwara, and even Kagemaru! He beat them all," I shouted.

"So what? Any third rate duelist could have done that. The duels were shams. Your so called hero is a piece of trash," James sighed. My eyes widened as a white gloved hand grabbed James by his jacket and hoisted him into the air as an identical fist rammed against his cheek, surprisingly not sending his glasses off.

"I dare you to say such a thing again," a blond woman said as she shook James roughly, leaving him startled as his cheek turned a dark red.

"Just who are you," Rei asked.

"Sherry LeBlanc," I said as Sherry turned towards me.

"Long time no see, Ruka," Sherry smiled lightly before letting go of James' sweatshirt and letting him fall to the bed beneath him.

"I see what you meant by this Sherry girl is really violent," Rei whispered as Sherry walked over to Kaze's bed side before turning towards me once more.

"I suppose an introduction is in order, correct," Sherry asked.

"Um.. Well, you've met James," I said and nodded towards the still stunned teen who hadn't moved an inch after Sherry's attack.

"And I'm Rei," Rei said.

"Rei Saotome, correct," Sherry asked, in which Rei nodded. "Well, its a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Sherry smiled, holding her hand out to Rei, who gave Sherry a quick handshake before the two turned towards James, probably both having the same idea in mind. "And as for you, James! You should stay quiet about things and people you don't know. If I hear you saying one bad thing about Kaze every again, I won't hold back," Sherry said.

"Forget her not holding back! I'll give you a thing or two as well," Rei said, although her threat wasn't as intimidating as Sherry's, since she had a glare worse than I've ever seen before.

"Well? Go on! Get out of here," Sherry snapped.

"Now... Now hold on you guys," a voice muttered, causing my heart to nearly stop. I had nearly forgotten about Kaze being here, although he was fast asleep...

"How can you say that! He insulted you! He damaged your pride," Sherry said.

"That's no reason to go beating up someone," Kaze muttered as he rubbed his eyes. "Now, James, right...? Go wait outside... I'll be out in a few minutes to talk to you about something, so do you mind waiting," Kaze asked, in which James barley even nodded before getting up and leaving.

"What was that about? He called you a sham and a weakling," Rei said. I quickly forgot about the two women beside me as some tears filled in my eyes. I don't know why, but they did. I found myself making my way over to Kaze's side and suddenly giving him a hug, which, after a few seconds, Kaze returned my hug with a one handed hug of his own.

"I was really worried about you," I muttered.

"And how do you think I felt when I heard that a little prodigy entered this tournament," Kaze asked, causing me to blush.

"P-prodigy," I asked.

"Hey, enough mushy mushy between you two! I haven't seen Kaze in, what, two years," Rei shouted, causing me to hesitantly back away. Apparently just in time, because Rei jumped past me and quickly hugged Kaze before pulling away and pushing his hat down. "Now who do you think you are, making such nice maidens worry about you," Rei asked.

"Well, I believe you two were the only ones who were worried," Sherry said.

"That's because you two have been together! It was like some extended date," Rei argued, causing me to blush once more. I... I hadn't thought about it like that, or at least not for a while! It really _was_ like a date between them! To top it off... They hadn't shown up until now... Who knows what they were doing...!

"If hacking main frames and nearly getting killed counts as a date, I can't wait to see what another one would be like," Sherry said.

"That's right! What happened to you, Sherry! I heard you call out to me or something a few days ago," I said, causing Sherry to bite her lip.

"Kaze, would you mind going after James now? I think you've had him waiting long enough," Sherry said, in which Kaze nodded before slowly getting onto his feet and leaving.

"What was that about," Rei asked.

"I simply don't need Kaze worrying about me anymore than he already is," Sherry sighed.

"Why would he worry about you? I mean, you just hit James so hard I thought he was going to be knocked unconscious," I said.

"You, of all people, should understand, Ruka," Sherry muttered. Was she referring to when she somehow said my name as it was carried over to me, or...

Rei suddenly pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open, leaving Sherry somewhat startled.

"It just means she's got an update," I explained.

"Great...! James is getting duel happy again," Rei muttered.

"Duel happy," Sherry asked.

"I guess we have a lot to go over," I muttered.

"That can wait! James apparently is using those ropes to make Kaze duel him," Rei said.

"How dare he! And after calling him a sham," Sherry shouted before rushing off.

"I can't help but say I wanted to see this duel," I muttered.

"Its only natural! Its like seeing someone battle their past self! Its pretty cool," Rei smiled before both of us left to watch the duel.

I guess our true reunion would have to wait until we finally got James under control... If he kept on getting this obnoxious with his duels, he may make a lot of trouble with us, not to mention the others...

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><p><em>"'Broken'...? 'Busted'...? Such utter nonsense. Technology is flawless. It is you who is broken..."<em>

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><p><em>Reviews:<em>

bryan102694: Rei is a student from the original duel academy. She went to Duel Academy disguised as a boy during Judai's first year. She later came back on her first official year as a girl on Judai's second year.

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><p><em>Notes:<em>

- Since Bryan102694 has brought up the topic, technically, I'll just post a quick over view of Rei's story in the tag force games, even though I said I wouldn't, just for you all to get it. In order to fit with the tag force games (During the first year, Rei doesn't show up) Rei shows up disguised on Judai's second year.

Kaze is the first one to find out that she is actually a girl during her time pretending to be a boy by walking in on her without her hat on. She makes Kaze swear to not to anyone and to help her keep her gender a secret, in which he does by stopping several teachers and other students from seeing her combs/ect. or anything else that would point to her being a girl. If I'm not mistaken, at this point in the game, Rei starts calling 'Hat Guy' a knight or something, but.. After that, Chronos de Medici (In the English dub, he is known as 'Crowler') accuses both Kaze and Rei of hiding something under their hats, and thus makes them duel him, where if he wins, they have to remove their hats in public. The two have no choice and have to duel, but during the duel, Chronos pulls a large fan out of no where in an attempt to blow off their hats with force, seeing how he was going to lose, but Kaze simply places his hands on both of their hats, preventing them from flying off, much to everyone's surprise. Kaze then manages to explain everything to the Chancellor and Rei is allowed to stay, but only as an Osiris, which didn't bother Rei much anyway, seeing as most of the students she knew were Osiris as well. (This is to incorporate the fact that Rei is in Osiris for one year) After finishing the year and the new year starts, Rei takes the test and ends up in Obelisk, expecting Kaze too as well, but he decides to stay in Osiris, like and Rei then went around taking yearbook pictures, which are the pictures in Rei's photo album in this story as well, and before they knew it, it was the end of the year. Since it is a partner graduation duel, Kaze asks Rei to be his partner since they've been together for so long, in which she accepts. After the two win, Rei takes Kaze out to the Girls' Dorm in order to talk to him privately about some things. They'll probably come up later as plot bits, so I won't talk about them now, but afterwards, Kaze leaves without a words, followed in suit by Judai. Rei then finishes her last year as the top of duel academy before going off to be a cheerleader for Jack, and eventually joining this tournament.


	7. Mom and Dad

Rei just sat there with a disbelieving face, occasionally pulling out her phone to double check the info. "Sherry... Where's the duel," Rei asked.

"Don't ask me. I come out here and all I see is this," Sherry said and nodded towards Kaze and James, who were sitting side by side, and actually getting along.

"Hey... Is it me, or do those guys look like father and son," Rei asked, seeing James lean over towards Kaze to get a better view of how he was tinkering with the small wrist device that James has.

"Now that you mention it," Sherry trailed off.

"They do kind of look the same," I muttered.

"Sooo," Rei asked, causing Sherry and I to turn towards her.

"What is it," Sherry asked.

"Well if Kaze is the dad, then who's the mom," Rei asked, causing Sherry and I to blush. "Well, its clearly me! I mean, you guys have too bright of hair! Mine's the closest to James' shade," Rei grinned.

"My hair may be blond, but my father had black hair, which means I still have his genes, regardless of my mother's blond," Sherry said.

"Yeah... I had a blond and black haired parent too... If I can come out with a totally different color than that, doesn't it mean it wouldn't matter about our hair," I asked.

"Let's just rock-paper-scissor over it then," Rei mumbled.

"How about we just forget about such a weird fantasy. James obviously has his own parents, regardless of similarities," Sherry sighed as James and Kaze made their ways over to us.

"I take it you fixed James'... Dueling... Momentum, whatever," Rei asked.

"He did. It was amazing. I've never seen anyone tinker with it and make it work but Father," James said.

"I think you owe him an apology then," Rei said as she placed her hand on James' head, causing him to twitch slightly.

"Come on, let's not go and get fighting again," Kaze sighed.

"Besides! I have to go catch up with Jullian," James said.

"That's the blond guy you're usually with, right," Rei asked, in which James nodded before walking off.

"Why would you help him? You should have let his device be ruined so he wouldn't bother us with his constant duels," Sherry said.

"Duels or not, he had a problem, and as long as its in our power to fix it, we should-," Kaze started.

"That's right! How could you even think of leaving poor little James alone with a device that sparked out," Rei finished as she inched towards Kaze, who didn't notice the advance, or didn't seem to care as much as Sherry and I did. Sherry and Rei started to glare at each other, as if they were going to start fighting, but Kaze put his hands up between them before things got worse.

"Come on... We haven't seen each other in a long time. We shouldn't waste time fighting," Kaze muttered.

"Yeah! We should go have a picnic," Rei said and wrapped her arm around one of Kaze's.

"No, we should take a walk around the island," Sherry said and wrapped her arm around Kaze's free arm.

Were Sherry and I like this before...? Oh, I hope not... I'm not even involved and the tug-a-war fight was making me sick.

"Guys," Kaze moaned.

"Why can't we just... I don't know, take a walk, and then have a picnic," I asked, causing Rei and Sherry to stop.

"Perfect idea! How about you go get Rua," Rei said with an all to fake smile before letting go of Kaze for a second to nudge me towards the hotel.

"B-but can't it be just us," I asked.

"What kind of sister are you! We have to include your brother," Rei said.

"If you guys are going to act this crazy, maybe we should just forget it," Kaze muttered. "Why is everything such a big fight now? Why can't we just sit down and watch the ocean or something? We don't need to do anything fancy, right," Kaze continued.

"So you're saying us meeting back up isn't important and is something casual," Rei prodded.

"I'd rather have it casual then us fighting," Kaze muttered, causing Rei and Sherry to look away. Although, not out of sorrow or anything like that, clearly. They were searching for ideas. Kaze just sighed lightly before running his hand through what was visible of his hair, grumbling some complaints before walking away.

"K-Kaze! Hold up! I'll... I'll make the best sandwich ever! Just wait for me," Rei shouted before darting off for the hotel, nearly knocking me down along the way.

"So its a cooking contest, is it," Sherry asked before briskly walking after Rei. I just sat there, blinking a few times before remembering that Kaze was walking away.

"Kaze," I called out before running after the brown haired teen. He didn't respond, or even stop, and I couldn't blame him. He probably thought I was going to start a tug-a-war fight with him again, but since he was walking, and I was running, I still managed to catch up with him fairly quickly.

"Let me guess. You want to know my favorite food or something," Kaze grumbled.

"No... I'm not cooking or anything. Its dangerous out here, and I don't think you should be wander alone, no matter how talented you are," I smiled. Kaze just stared at me, slightly surprised, as if he was doubting that this place was dangerous, before smiling and looking forward.

"What makes you think that hanging out with me will make you safe," Kaze asked.

"If you can save the world a couple times, I think you'll manage," I smiled. "But just in case, we should stick close together, you know," I asked. Kaze just chuckled before wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me against his chest.

"That close enough for you," he asked before we both started laughing until I heard a soft growl. Both Kaze and I looked down at his duel disk and he pulled a card out of his deck. "What is it," Kaze asked. I heard a few more growls, surprising me. "That so? Alright," Kaze said before returning the card to his deck. "You ready," Kaze asked.

"W-what did it say," I asked.

"You couldn't understand," Kaze asked, clearly surprised. I was more surprised than him though. I've heard the spirits since I was at three, maybe even sooner! Now... Now I can't understand them at all...?

Kaze suddenly pulled the same card back out and a few more growls came out of it, in which Kaze sighed with relief after it finished. "Seems like he just didn't want you to hear, I guess. Good news that nothings wrong, right," Kaze asked.

"Why wouldn't he want me to hear," I asked softly.

"I dunno... Uruquizas is just shy, I guess," Kaze chuckled, although that didn't calm my worry. "He just wanted to let us know that he could sense Sherry and Rei, but they're a little ways to the left. Nothing wrong, see," Kaze asked. Even with this, I still wasn't satisfied. What was so secretive about that..? No other spirits usually reserved themselves. Not even an opponent's monster in a duel. Regardless, when Kaze walked the other way, I followed him, making some conversation in an attempt to get Uruquizas' shyness, and hopefully only that, of my mind.

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><p><em>Notes:<em>

- Sorry for the lack of updates. High school has me getting hit with test after test and they drain us dry, so I've been busy with homework/studying. I've also been working on Tag Force one-shots, with Hat Guy pairings to make up for the lateness (and for the fact that polygamy won't be a factor in the story, so everyone is kind of satisfied)**  
><strong>


	8. Lilacs

"Say '_Ah_'," Rei said as she held the sandwich up to Kaze's mouth. Kaze remained silent for a few seconds, still hating the two fighting over him, but sighed when Rei glared at him.

"Whatever... _Ah_," Kaze muttered, in which Rei happily put the piece of sandwich in his mouth.

"Well? Is it good or what," Rei asked.

"Er... Good," Kaze muttered before coughing a little, causing me to sigh.

"By good, he means 'What'," Sherry said, causing Rei to glare her the blond.

"H-hey! Look at that! Its the Scorpio," Kaze said and pointed to the sky, drawing our attentions to the sky.

"What? I don't see a scorpion," Rei muttered.

"Its a constellation. You can see it right there," I said and traced out the constellation with my finger, but it still didn't help Rei out.

"Here! I'll go see if its a better view over here," Kaze said before standing up and running up the hill.

"Well, you wanna know what_ I_ see," Rei asked.

"And what would that be? A line," Sherry asked.

"No! A nice big heart that's above Kaze and I," Rei smiled and made a heart with her hands, which she held up towards the stars.

"You know that there's just a bunch of random stars in that area, right," Sherry asked.

"Of course! So I can make anything I want out of it! Right, Kaze," Rei asked. She waited for a response, but when she got none, she frowned. "I said _'Right, Kaze'_," Rei called out, but once again got no reply.

"Kaze," I asked and looked up the hill, only to see that Kaze wasn't there.

"Oh! Its hide and seek, I bet! I'll find him first," Rei shouted before making her way up the hill.

"Its not a competition anymore," I asked, but Sherry ignored me and slowly walked up the hill, in which I hesitantly followed. Sherry suddenly stopped and picked something up of the ground as Rei continued to call out for Kaze.

As a note, if this was hide and seek, I don't think he'd reply to her...

Sherry clenched her hands before turning towards me, an angry expression on her face. "W-what is it," I asked. Sherry simply opened her hand, revealing three gold bars on a broken black string, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Hey guys! You won't win if you just-," Rei started when she also noticed the necklace. The three of us remained for a couple seconds until we finally realized what it meant. "Ah! Someone kidnapped Kaze! Sherry, you hired someone, didn't you," Rei shouted.

"What would I gain out of kidnapping him," Sherry asked.

"_Guys_," I muttered, causing the two to get back in focus.

"Alright! We've got to split up and search for him! Whoever took him can't be too far," Rei shouted.

"We'd be better off going together. Who says they aren't after us too," Sherry muttered. "Besides. If you notice, the grass looks stepped on only in the direction of the woods. There's no need to split up," Sherry continued.

"Alright! Our rivalry will be put on hold until we solve this mystery then," Rei said before taking the lead and darting into the forest, in which Sherry gave an exasperated sigh before walking after her.

"G-guys! Wait," I shouted before running after them. Once I finally caught up, I saw that Rei had slowed down noticeably and was sticking close to Sherry, and to be honest, I was too. If we had someone who was going to kidnap us, who better to stand by than Sherry, who had weapons built into her duel disk?

"I don't know if this is a good idea now... Who knows where we're wandering into... This may be like before," Rei muttered.

"You mean when you got caught by James," I asked, in which Rei nodded.

"Ah, sorry, Sherry! You probably have no idea what I'm-," Rei started as she turned around, but suddenly stopped, causing me to turn around as well.

Regardless of our age difference, Rei quickly jump over next to me and hid behind me, grabbing my shoulders tightly. If she wasn't already behind me, I probably would have ran and hid too. Sherry was no where in sight. "This is crazy..! These guys are right here! They can see us! They can hear us," Rei panicked, causing me to feverishly look around.

"Maybe... if we slowly back away and keep looking around at all times... Then they won't be able to get us," I muttered, in which Rei slowly nodded. I was about to continue when I felt Rei's grip on my shoulders disappear. I didn't dare look behind me to check is she was there or not. "Rei," I asked softly, but got no response. When there was a rustle in the bush, I nearly broke out in a sprint to get out of harm's way, but my panic instantly vanished when I saw none other than Kaze walk out of the large bush, wiping on the pieces of leaves that stuck to him with one hand and holding a white lilac in the other.

"Ah! There you are! I've been looking all over for you," Kaze said as he made his way over to me, kneeling down before placing the flower in my hair.

"N-now isn't the time for this! Sherry and Rei got kidnapped," I shouted. Kaze just stared at me like I was crazy for a few seconds before grabbing my wrist.

"Here! Let me show you something," Kaze said before leading me off in the direction he came from.

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><p>"Hey! Ruka! What took you so long," Rua shouted, causing my eyes to widen even more. Not only was there a random party going on, but Rua was here...?<p>

"Here I thought you got lost," Sherry said as she and Rei walked over to us, glasses of punch in their hands.

"W-where'd you guys go," I asked.

"Well, I figured it would be fun to give you a nice little scare," James smiled before join us.

"He didn't let us know about that until a while ago... Kaze went out to find you long before that, though," Rua said.

"Father always told me to repay those who do favors for you, so in return for helping me out earlier, I'm throwing you guys a mini-party," James said. "Speaking of which. Kaze, my father was asking me to prompt you on some recent designs. Would you mind checking them out," James asked, in which Kaze nodded. James gave us a quick nod before taking his leave, Kaze quickly following.

"Hey! I wanna see some cool designs," Rua shouted before darting after them, spilling his punch along the way. The errie silence that Rei and Sherry gave me wasn't a good sign that we were going to get along as well as the boys were.

"Who gave you that flower," Rei muttered after a few minutes.

"T-this," I asked and lightly touched the flower in my hair. "Kaze gave it to me. Why," I continued.

"What are you doing! You're supposed to be going with James," Rei said, causing me to blush.

"W-what! When did we decide that," I asked.

"Well, Sherry and I sat down while we were here, and we talk it over. James is closer to your age, so you should go with him! That way, its only me and Sherry in it for Kaze," Rei explained.

"No, the deal was that we would go by age. James and Ruka are closer, but Kaze and I are the same age. That means that I get to go with Kaze," Sherry said.

"Hey! We never said that," Rei shouted.

"So, you see, this gear would-," Kaze started as he and the boys exited the house, but before he could continue his scientific talk, Rei ran over to him and latched onto his arm, causing him to blush. "R-Rei...! I'm-," Kaze started once more, but was cut off again.

"Why did you give Ruka a flower? Why didn't we get one," Rei asked.

"Because Ruka was lost, and I figured I'd need something to comfort her... But if it makes you feel better," Kaze trailed off before fumbling in his right pocket and pulling out two more lilacs, one white, like mine, and the other was purple. Surprisingly, they weren't damaged at all. "I accidentally knocked them off, so I figured I might as well take them," Kaze muttered before walking over to Sherry and placing the white lilac in her hair before turning around and placing the purple one in Rei's hair. "There! Now if you excuse us," Kaze muttered before walking back over to James and continuing to talk and what seemed to be a foreign language based on how high tech it sounded.

"There! Now we can all be happy, right," I asked.

"I'm not happy! I'm _more _than happy! White lilacs represent youthful innocence, but purple means the first emotions of love! Kaze loves me and thinks you guys are young and innocent," Rei grinned.

"I'm sure he just gave them based on our hair colors," I muttered, but was promptly ignored for what seems to be the hundredth time today.

"Ha! So much for same age! I told you, Kaze and I were blessed by the god of love! We were meant to be," Rei smiled, not caring if the boys might over hear her.

Although, I think she might actually want them too...

"After all!_ I_ confessed my love to him first," Rei proudly said.

"As a matter of fact, it was me," Sherry said.

"But yours was fake... You even told him so, until later that is... I actually meant it when I confessed, so I was first," I said, reluctantly getting involved in the fight.

"Hold up, hold up! When did you guys confess," Rei asked.

"Just on Kaze's birthday, not too long ago," Sherry said.

"I told you, I confessed first! I confessed over three years ago! Top that," Rei grinned.

"You do know that since you aren't dating or anything, that counts as a rejection."

"It does not! He swore to me that he would wait until I graduated at the top of my class! Then he'd give me my reply!"

"That's still a long time ago. Its rejected."

"It is not! Kaze just doesn't know I graduated as number one yet! That's all! As soon as I get down to it and tell him, he'll certainly pick me up in his arms and we'll run off into the sunset," Rei protested. The argument stopped there, and we all tried to imagine Kaze doing that with anyone.

"The day that Kaze does that is the day the world ends," Sherry muttered.

"Kaze wouldn't do that... Even if the world is ending... That's just," I trailed off.

"Maybe we'll get on his D-Wheel and ride off to a remote town in the middle of nowhere so we can peacefully start a new family together," Rei asked. We all went silent once more.

_"Nah..."_

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><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- I'm no florist, but I was told that this is what the different kinds of lilacs mean... So if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me on that...

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><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

bryan102694: As I've stated before, no other character from GX will be returning. Rei is the only exception.

Johan07: Blame my friends for that idea xD There was a kid in class who all my friends liked, and I kind of liked him too, but not as much as them, and they all went crazy and kept getting in fights over him, without even considering his feelings, and most were behind his back. Luckily, they got past that stage, but by that time, he moved away.


	9. Attacks

"Here, my dear. A D-wheel, made especially for you," Kaze smiled, causing my face to turn pink.

"Uh... Um... T-thanks," I stuttered as my blush got deeper. Before anything else happened, there was a loud scream, causing everything around me to slowly fade away as my conscious stirred. Alright, Kaze will never act like that, I know, and if he did, I would probably run away on the spot, but a girl can dream sometimes, right? No reason for some random person to scream...

"H-_help me_," a man cried before screaming once more, causing me to quickly sit up, my heart pounding hard against my chest.

"R-Rua...? Did you hear that," I asked. After getting no response, I remembered that after the party, we had decided that Rua and Kaze would stay in Rei's room and Rei and Sherry would stay in our room. That way, we wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness that would most likely follow with Kaze and Rei or Sherry in the same room sleeping. "Sherry? Rei," I asked, trying my best to see through the darkness, but I couldn't see any other figure besides the bed and couch, which were empty. I fumbled beside me until I found the old lamp on the table beside me and turned the light on, still seeing no one else in the room. Against my better judgement, I got to my feet and made my way over to the window, pulling open the curtains before looking to the earth below.

My eyes widened when I saw a duel going on, and a man was inching towards the edge of the cliff. I quickly slammed the curtains back together before running out of our room, making sure the door was shut and that I had a key in case things got any worse. It was probably obvious where I was headed at this point. I'd have to go get Kaze. With Sherry and Rei gone to somewhere else, I had no choice but to rely on him once more. When I reached the door with a golden '134' on it, I quickly knocked on the door, trying to keep my knocking at a moderate level, as I didn't want to wake everyone in the surrounding area. A few seconds after I stopped, the door opened and I just sat there blinking for a few seconds at seeing a yawning Rei.

"Hm..? Ruka...? What are you doing here," Rei asked before stretching one arm over her head.

"I could ask you the same thing," I muttered.

"Just come on in. I'm sure things will speak for themselves," Rei said and pulled the door opened wider, allowing me to enter, cautiously looking around to see if I would find Sherry hiding somewhere as well. "You see, I was staying in your room until Kaze came over," Rei said, but didn't say anymore, as I was taking in the image of Kaze laying curled up on the bed, breathing slightly heavier than normal and with a red face. "Apparently he is coming down with a nasty fever or something. It must have been something he ate, I guess," Rei muttered, clearly forgetting that there was a high chance that it was her sandwich.

"Then you'll have to help that man instead," I said, causing Rei to blink a few times.

"What man," Rei asked.

"The scream from a while ago. There's this man and-," I started but Rei ran past me and over to my twin who was snoring away on the couch.

"Hey! Rua," Rei said as she shook Rua's shoulders, getting a tired groan in return. "Listen! You need to look after Kaze alright! I'm counting on you," Rei said, earning another groan, but this time a confused one. Rei didn't even bother to answer Rua and quickly ran off, in which I had to sprint as hard as I could to catch up.

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><p>"Pathetic. To think you actually survived in this tournament," a blue haired woman murmured as she placed her cards back in her deck and walked away from the cliff. Both Rei and I were stunned in fear for a while, simply due to the woman's aura she was giving off. Even though she wasn't tall or anything like that, it still felt like we were ants beneath her. She was wearing a dark green visor over her eyes, much like to the ones on a D-wheel helmet, and an extremely large black piece of cloth which covered all over her body below her neck.<p>

"H-hey...! Where was the guy you were dueling," Rei shouted, managing to recover from her fear and put up a brave front. The woman simply nodded towards the cliff, causing our eyes to widen.

"Y-you mean...! You...! You," I trailed off, not able to get the words out of my mouth. What would I say anyway..? Killed him...? Pushed him of a cliff..? I really had no idea what that simple nod meant. Rei clearly took it as she killed the man though, and quickly ran forward towards the woman. "R-Rei! Wait," I shouted, even though it was already too late. The woman easily stepped to the side, letting Rei go past her before reeling her leg back and kicking Rei's stomach, easily sending her flying back.

Unfortunately, it was back towards me.

You can probably already tell how that went. I wasn't anywhere near as strong as Sherry, who probably could have caught Rei with no problem, so when Rei grew closer and closer, all I could do was close my eyes and prepare for the blow. It was only when Rei flew into me that I realized the true power of the woman we were dealing with, as after we collided, we still went at least ten feet back before hitting the ground, both in terrible pain. "R-Rei...? Are you alright," I asked softly, but all I got was a barley audible groan as a response. I forced myself to at least sit up, seeing as the woman was still around, and I apparently had excellent timing. The woman was already a few feet away from us, her arm reeled back. With much difficulty, I managed to get to my feet and yank Rei out of the way. As much as that probably hurt, I'm sure a punch from this woman would hurt a whole lot more.

When I heard the rocks crunch beneath her fist, I couldn't help but cringe. That could have been us...

"Why don't you just stay still! You're ruining the fun!"

"As much 'fun' as this is, you need to stop," I shouted as the woman made her way towards us once more, but before she could prepare a blow, there was a loud roar, causing my heart to race even faster than it already was and for her to pause. That... That was...!

"Brionac, nice job," Kaze muttered as he staggered his way over to his monster, clutching one of his sides. When the woman gave a soft laugh, Rei took the initiative and roughly grabbed my shoulder so she could push herself up.

"Kaze...! Get out of the way," Rei shouted, but quickly gripped where her wound was. Regardless of her warning though, Kaze made no move to get out of the way as the woman rushed forward. Instead, he simply shot Brionac a glance, and the large Sea Serpent monster pulled back it's tail before whipping it forward, sending a large gust of air that sent the attacker flying back. It also stunned both Rei and I.

"B-Brionac is a... real monster," I asked as the woman landed on her feet a couple inches away from the cliff's edge. Before she could go back for another attack, Sherry and Rua ran out of the hotel.

"Hey! Kaze! Where do you think you're-," Sherry started but suddenly froze as her eyes met the covered ones of the woman. The blue haired woman simply smiled before giving a two fingered wave and preforming a back flip off the cliff.

"H-hey! Hold up," Kaze shouted, but quickly fell to one knee before coughing into his wrist.

"Kaze," Rua shouted as he ran over to Kaze, checking if he was alright as Sherry just stared at where the woman had been.

"I'll be fine... Its just a nasty cough now," Kaze muttered and slowly got on his feet and placed Brionac's card back in his deck, making the monster disappear. Rei took one of her arms and wrapped her around my neck so I could serve as her crutch on the way over to the others.

"Sherry...? What's wrong," Rei asked.

"It... its nothing. Just forget about it," Sherry muttered. "Speaking of which. Kaze. Come with me. We have somethings to talk about," Sherry said.

"Hold up..! _We _have things to talk about! Like where you and Kaze were before this, and how you know that woman, who just happened to send a guy flying off this cliff," Rei said, her agitation pretty noticeable.

"What makes you think I even know her? The sheer coincidence that I was stunned by the woman and her appearance simply means I knew her? I was simply as startled as you at seeing a murderer," Sherry said quickly before walking over to Kaze, who was breaking out into another coughing fit.

"Whatever it is that you need to talk about, why can't it be here, in front of all of us," I asked.

"Yeah! We're all friends, aren't we! So why are we keeping secrets like this from each other," Rei asked, causing Sherry laugh lightly.

"_Friends...?_ Last time I checked, we were rivals here," Sherry said.

"Hey! Stop it! Rivals or whatever, you guys all like Kaze right! Kaze likes you guys too, so why are you fighting? That means you should all be friends if you like the same thing," Rua shouted.

"Rua, that's not how things really work," Kaze muttered, slowly recovering from the coughs.

"Why not," Rua demanded.

"If you and a friend both like a card that's on the ground, then who would get it," Sherry asked.

"Well, we'd duel over it, of course," Rua shouted, but once he realized what he said, he sighed. "Alright, alright... I get it... But you're all Kaze's friends! So that should make you friends then," Rua said.

"Speaking of 'friends'," Sherry muttered and slowly turned towards the hotel as James exited, one hand in his pocket and the other pushing up his glasses.

"What's going on here? I've gotten several reports of some noisy behavior going on," James said.

"Someone busted into this tournament and shoved someone off the cliff," Kaze explained as he managed his way back to his feet. James just remained silent, slowly looking over us, and I couldn't really blame him. We probably looked like a mess, to say the least.

"Well, I guess explanations can wait if its all over. It looks like Kaze and Saotome here need some treatment," James said.

"We'll be fine," Sherry muttered, her eyes drifting back to the cliff where the woman was.

"I insist. We can't have you two being injured with the tournament going back up tomorrow," James said.

"Hey. Not to be mean here, but why does it matter if Kaze is better by tomorrow or not. He isn't in the tournament," Rua said.

"Actually, Father invited him to be a special guest. Anyway, we're now missing a competitor. He can easily be a replacement," James said. "So come on. I'll take you two to my private nurse. You'll be healed in no time," James continued. Rei and Kaze shot each other a glance, as if they were doubting James, but in the end, Rei just smiled.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to help a lady over," Rei asked, clearly expecting Kaze to pick her in in his arms or something. I had to bite my lip to not laugh at the face Rei made when James walked over and bent down.

"Come on. Get on my back or you'll have to walk," James muttered, causing Rei to dejectedly get on James' back before he stood up. "And you three. I expect you to return to your rooms. I can only be so nice to you guys. If you get caught by the guards, I won't be able to help," James continued as he walked over to Kaze, apparently having no difficulty with Rei on his back.

"Ruka! If the guards catch us, we'll be kicked out! C'mon, c'mon," Rua shouted, quickly grabbing my wrist and dragging me off towards the hotel, against my protests, as I wanted to stay behind and try to get a few answers out of Sherry, no matter how impossible it sounded. Even if it wasn't Sherry, I still would have at least liked to question Kaze about how is Brionac became real and managed to blow the woman away. Rua clearly wasn't even curious though, so I just had to let my thoughts go and hope that Rei would find out the answers to my questions and let me know.

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

Iwould like to thank the two that noted that there were a few mistakes in this chapter. Apparently, when I was editing this, I forgot most of the grammar rules... So, now things should be alright.


	10. Partnering

"Well, I would first like to apologize for apparently waking you up too early," Julian murmured as Rua finished his yawning. "Regardless, I'd like to introduce you to two special guests invited by the man who held this tournament," Julian continued before holding his hand out to the right, causing everyone but Rua and I to quickly turn towards where he was gesturing to. As James said, it would be Sherry and Kaze.

"Hey! Kaze," Rua called out happily as the duo made their way towards Julian. Instead of getting us several glares like we usually got when Rua was loud during these meetings, we actual got surprised glances.

"Kaze...? You mean the Kokoro kid," a man next to us asked.

"Oh yeah! He's got real mean skills," Rua smiled, causing the man to smirk slightly.

"Humph... If Kokoro is in this tournament, then things will be really interesting," the man murmured.

"As I'm sure most of you know, this is Kaze Kokoro and Sherry LeBlanc. Due to the disappearance of one participant-," Julian started when the man next to us stepped forward.

"Hey! Forget reasons! Let's get this round started! I wanna duel Kokoro," he shouted, in which several other shouted out their agreements.

"Calm yourselves, or you won't even get the chance," James said as he stepped out of the far corner of the crowd.

"Its alright. I see the reason for their excitement. I'll keep things short," Julian murmured before clearing his throat. "For this round, we now have an even number, as most have you noticed. This is for a tag round," Julian continued.

"In simple terms, you pick someone you want to partner with so that you can help protect them through this round," James said.

"And what if we don't want a weight dragging us down," another man from the crowd asked.

"Then we could just as easily kick you out if you don't want to follow the rules," James smiled a little too calmly.

"So, I would suggest picking partners now before you get stuck with a real weight," Julian said before he walked off, causing a stir to rise in the crowd. There was no confusion on who I wanted as a partner though, and it was clear that I wasn't the only one.

"Kaze! Be my partner! Please please _pleeease_," Rei shouted as she jumped out from her hiding place in the crowd, quickly hugging Kaze.

"You sure heal fast," Sherry murmured.

"It was amazing! They had this medicine that made me all better in an instant! It even helped Kaze get better too," Rei smiled and increased the strength of her hug. Luckily for Kaze, he's been hugged much harder by Sherry, so judging by his face, he didn't feel that much pain. Just embarrassment.

"Better or not, Kaze is going to be my partner," Sherry said.

"No way! Not after you guys keep fighting! Kaze is gonna be Ruka's partner," Rua shouted.

"R-Rua," I asked as he stepped forward and joined in on the argument.

"Hey. Knock it off," James muttered as he reluctantly made his way over towards us.

"They're trying to steal my partner," Rei shouted.

"I... I never said-," Kaze started.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Kaze and Rei were already partners, so just let it go," James sighed, leaving the rest of us silent for a few seconds.

"Yay! That means we're going to be together again! All alone too," Rei cheered.

"Who are you to tell us who we partner with," Sherry asked.

"The son of the man who made this tournament," James said, causing Sherry to reluctantly go silent. "Speaking of partners, it seems like everyone else has partners besides you three. Who are you going to pick," James asked.

"Well, I think I'm-," I started, clearly thinking Rua and I would be partners again. Apparently I was wrong, as Rua stepped towards James.

"You and me are going to be partners," Rua said, startling everyone.

"B-but Rua-," I started once more, but Rua turned towards me.

"You have questions for Sherry, don't you...? This will be your chance. You'll be alone," Rua whispered.

"Fine. Then I'd go and tell Julian your partner so we can keep track. Let's get going," James said and started walking off, in which Rua quickly ran after.

"Well, good luck you-," Kaze started but Rei quickly clasped his hand in hers and darted towards Jullian, causing Sherry to twitch. She prepared to go after her, but she suddenly remembered that we were partners now.

"Are you ready or what," Sherry asked.

"Uh, yeah. Let's go sign up," I said.

* * *

><p>"This round is stupid," Sherry grumbled, breaking the awkward silence that had formed during our walk through the forest.<p>

"Uh... its actually kind of nice... No duels, and just a simple walk. Its kind of calming," I said.

"Why wouldn't we just go to the next round then? This is a waste of my time, not to mention Kaze's. We have better things we should be doing," Sherry said.

"Speaking of which," I trailed off, causing Sherry to turn towards me. "We... we promised we'd talk about what happened, didn't we...? Since we're alone... no one will hear, and," I trailed off once more.

"Well, I've changed my mind. What went on between Kaze and I is none of your concern," Sherry said before turning away once more.

"But Sherry-," I started.

"I said its none of your concern," Sherry snapped, causing me to go quiet and creating another awkward silence.

"Is... is it wrong for me to worry about someone I care about," I asked softly, but Sherry didn't reply for quite some time.

"You'd be best to ask Kaze himself if you're that worried. I actually blacked out several times while we were here," Sherry muttered.

"But Kaze won't tell me anything if its anything bad," I insisted.

"Well, if Kaze won't tell you, then neither will I," Sherry said.

"Sherry, please! I won't tell anyone else, I swear," I said, doing my best to remain strong and not sound like I was begging.

"Really? You wouldn't tell Rei the identity of her attacker," Sherry asked, causing my eyes to widen.

"Y-you do know-," I started.

"Of course. Why do you think Kaze was calm during the situation? We both know that woman all to well," Sherry muttered. "Seeing as if you ask Kaze, he'd probably tell you about her anyway, if you tried hard enough, I'll tell you about her," Sherry continued.

"Thank-," I started.

"And I'll _only _tell you about her! You can't tell Rei about her, nor that we know about her! If the woman comes back, you can't act like you know her either. I'll also only tell you what Kaze would. As I said, what went on between us is none of your business," Sherry said.

"Thank you," I finished, although I still would have liked a bit more than what I was getting out of her. Regardless, I would have to take what I'd get.

"Well, the first time we met her was a few days ago..."

* * *

><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

Johan07 and The Wild Fang : To start off, as I said in the re-edited last chapter, I would like to thank you for pointing out that I was smart enough to forget my grammar rules. So, that's redone and should be better. Secondly, I take it as you guys both have the same character in mind. Since I lost my Tag Force 3, because I'm clumsy like that, I wouldn't be able to use all of the tag forces to get this character. Is there an article or something about her somewhere? If not, I'll just put it out there that she's a new character, as we need antagonists in this story.


	11. Sherry's Weakness

Resting my finger lightly against the button that would activate the taser in my duel disk, making sure that I would be ready if one of the Yliaster cowards decided to pull a sneak attack, I walked briskly through the forest. I wouldn't put it past them, seeing as Kaze and I had finally split up to cover more ground. As if on cue, there was a beep, causing me to instinctively press the button and let my taser shoot out of my duel disk before turning around, read to face whoever was there. It was only when I realized that no one was there that I remembered my phone was attached to my belt. "What is it, Kaze," I asked as I opened my phone.

"Oh, so that's the name of this boy. I thought as much," a female's voice said, causing my hand to clutch around my phone.

"Hey! Who are you! What did you do to Kaze," I shouted.

"Listen very closely... If you want to see this boy alive, I want you to turn around and go back to the clearing. Do so and I will let the boy live," the woman said.

"S-Sherry! Don't...! Its -," Kaze's voice started.

"Oh? You're still able to move? I thought I had you under wraps. No matter," the woman said before static noises came out of my phone, quickly causing me to close it before darting back the way I came.

* * *

><p>"Here! Here I am! So let him go," I shouted to the blue haired woman sitting a few feet ahead of me, who was happily running her hand through Kaze's hair, his hat resting beside her.<p>

"Now now, I said I'd let him live. I never said anything about giving him over to you," the woman smiled, causing my blood to boil even more than it already was. "In fact, I think I may keep him forever and ever! We'd be the cutest couple, don't you think," the woman asked before smiling even wider.

"Cutest my-," I started, but she simply held up her free hand.

"Watch your tongue, please. I don't want Kazy to be awoken from his nap just yet," she said, causing me to twitch.

"Stop treating him as if he was your pet," I snarled.

"I have all the right to though. You're just sinking into the same spot as Ruka is," the woman said, causing my eyes to widen as I subconsciously took a step back.

"Y-you better not have touched anyone," I shouted.

"Why would I? It would give me lots of trouble in the long run. Besides, Kazy would be upset too," the woman said.

"Just who are you! How do you know us," I snapped, causing the woman to start giggling.

"Well, I'll let you know my name. I think that would be a fair trade off for Kazy's. I'm called Noir," the woman smiled.

"_'Black'_ huh," I asked, slightly interested that she had a French word as her name.

"Let me guess? 'Black fits such a cruel person like you', right," Noir asked before starting to laugh once more.

"Stop it with the jokes! What do you want with Kaze," I asked, slowly raising my finger towards the button beneath my field spell zone.

"_Kazy_," Noir corrected. "And secondly, I wouldn't activate that if I were you. If you did, I'd have to take Kazy away so he wouldn't be hurt," she continued, instantly causing my finger to stop.

"How do you know what's there," I asked.

"Well, if I told you, where would the fun in that be," Noir asked. "But I'll be nice. I have to go, and my friend doesn't like new people, so I'll give Kazy back to you, seeing as you like him so much," Noir smiled as she reached over and grabbed Kaze's hat before putting it back on him. "Look here. You're going to go to the tournament that is held on this island in a couple of days. When you do, you're going to meet a girl called Rei Saotome. If you love this boy as much as I know you do, then I would suggest being weary of her," she said before setting Kaze down from her lap and walking off. I didn't even bother waiting for the slow paced woman to get out of sight and I simply ran straight over to him. Just as I was about to pick Kaze up, he opened his eyes, clearly seeming to be wide awake.

"Oh, hey Sherry," Kaze said as he sat up, leaving me even more stunned.

"Is that all you can say," I snapped.

"Well, I guess thanks for worrying about me," Kaze said.

"How about why you're wide awake when you were unconscious five seconds ago," I asked.

"Noir told me that if I just sat there and pretended to be unconscious, then she'd let us go. I don't get why though. I could have just hid somewhere if she wanted you to think I was hurt or something," Kaze muttered. "And secondly, I know Rei Saotome. She isn't bad at all! She's a real good friend from Duel Academy, so I wouldn't listen to her about that," Kaze said. Of course, he was still oblivious to most romantic things. She was referring to the fact that this Rei girl must have liked Kaze as well. Him admitting that she was a close friend was even more of a hint towards it.

"Come on then... If you're safe, we should get back to work," I said, in which Kaze nodded before jumping to his feet.

* * *

><p>"It was stupid of me at the time to not notice the lack of damage that would have to take place if there really was a fight. I guess Kaze's safety is just a weakness of mine," Sherry sighed. When she turned and saw that I wanted her to tell me more, she simply ran her hand through her hair. "I told you, I'm only going to tell you what Kaze would have told you," Sherry said. "And speaking of Kaze," Sherry muttered, noticing the forest clearing a little ways ahead, where a red figure was.<p>

"Looks like we're almost to the next round," I muttered.

"Well, come on. Who knows if this is timed or not. We've wasted enough time talking," Sherry said, in which I nodded before we both ran for the clearing.

"Took you guys long enough," Rei muttered once I finally caught my breath.

"So the round is timed," I asked.

"Take a look around," Kaze said, in which I did, noticing several tag duels going on.

"What about it," I asked.

"Oh, I see," Sherry muttered.

"What," I asked.

"Based on the order you get here, your opponents were decided. Rei and I were first, and you guys were last, so," Kaze trailed off.

"Get your duel disks ready! We've got a duel," Rei smiled.

"N-no way! You're going to cream us," I said.

"Well, look at it this way, the results are based off of our skills. Whoever pulls of the best combos and such can move on. You could lose in the first five turns and still move on," Kaze explained.

"So, like I said, get ready, because we have a duel!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

-As I was writing the first part of this chapter, I thought 'taser' was spelled wrong, so I went and googled it... Google gave me about four different ways to spell it... So I'll just go with what my dictionary says, even though Google says its wrong..._  
><em>

- If this story had the English names instead, I so would have had the cliche Judai/Jaden 'Get your game on'. It was only until I thought about it that I remembered it was only the dub that had that...

- As when Noir is telling Sherry she's in the same place as Ruka, its supposed to mean that Sherry's getting jealous, but Sherry takes it as she's getting scared like Ruka was when Noir showed up or something. Going along with Noir, its just a random French name. Its also supposed to represent that Noir and Sherry are supposed to be butting heads all the time (LeBlanc - White; Noir - Black) Unless my friend who's learning French messed up her colors...

* * *

><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

The Wild Fang - I can't believe that I seriously forgot about Misaki from Over the Nexus. She was my favorite character xD I never really considered using her though, as she wasn't, unfortunately, in the Tag Force games, which this story revolves around.


	12. James' Mother

_~"The time of our meeting is finally drawing near... Let me see you struggle."~_

* * *

><p>"Alright, since Kaze and I got here first, we get the first turn! Kaze, have at it," Rei said, in which Kaze nodded before we all picked up our cards.<p>

_[**Kaze and Rei:** 8000 LP] [**Ruka and Sherry:** 8000 LP]_

"I'll set four cards face down and set a monster face down as well. That's all," Kaze said as he placed his cards in his duel disk. I took the initiative and drew my card, slowly trying to think up of a strategy that would work. I wasn't quite used to this deck, but if I used the deck that Kaze helped me build, then he'd know all of my cards. I'd have to take every chance at an advantage that I could if I wanted even the slightest chance of moving to the next round.

"I set a monster face down. Then I'll finish my turn with two face downs," I said.

"My move then," Rei shouted, surprisingly eager to be in a duel against us. Then again, she had Kaze on her team... She must have been thinking that there was no way she could lose. "I activate Solar Exchange! With this card, I can discard one Lightlord," Rei paused, as she had to pull a card out of her hand, which she revealed to be Lightlord Hunter Raikou. "When I do, I send the top two cards from my deck to the Cemetery, but in return, I get to draw two cards," Rei finished. "Then I'll activate the Field Spell Justice World! To top it off, I'll summon Lightlord Warrior Garos," Rei said as an armored blue haired man appeared in front of her. _[**Attack:** 1850]_ Regardless of the fact that the area around the duelists would change into something similar to the field spell, no change happened, which must have been due to the several other duels going around. The only noticeable difference that came from the activation was that it got a little brighter out. "Garos, do you thing! Attack Ruka's monster," Rei shouted. _[**Honest:** **Defense:** 1900]_

"So you'll take-," Sherry started.

"I'll activate the effect of the Honest in my hand! I can discard him to have my battling Light monster gain attack equal to your monster's attack," Rei said and quickly put the card in her Cemetery. _[**Attack:** 2950] _"So Garos! Destroy that monster," Rei shouted, in which the warrior complied by slicing its axe through my monster. "Then I'll activate Wave-Motion Cannon. For every Standby Phase that this card is on the field, it gains a counter. During one of my Main Phases, I can send it to the Cemetery in order to deal damage to you, which will be equal to 1000 times the amount of counters it has," Rei said as a small cannon appeared beside her. "That'll be all! Let's see how you can top that, Sherry," Rei said.

"If you want to lose so badly, then I don't mind helping," Sherry muttered as she took her draw. "I activate Fusion! I fuse my Sacred Knight Spear-Bearer and Swift Horse of the Floral Knights from my hand in order to Fusion Summon Centaurmina," Sherry shouted as her two monsters appeared briefly on the field, only to be pulled together a second later. There was a flash of light and a female centaur appeared before us. _[**Attack:** 2200]_

"Fusion, huh? Been a long time since I've seen that," Rei said.

"Centaurmina, attack her Garos." Sherry shouted.

"Not so fast! I activate Claymore Mine! I can-," Rei started.

"Centaurmina's effect allows me to negate the activation of your trap and place it face down. Of course, I can only use it once per turn, but it doesn't matter anymore," Sherry said as the centaur sliced her sword through Rei's monster.

_[**Rei and Kaze:** 7650 LP]_

"Then I'll finish my turn with a face down," Sherry said.

"And since it's our turn, our Wave-Motion Cannon gets one counter," Kaze said as he finished picking up his card and the cannon beside him increased a little in size.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 1]_

"Then I'll activate Fissure, and since Centaurmina is the only monster on your field, it's automatically the one with lowest attack," Kaze said before placing his card in his duel disk, causing a hole to appear beneath our monster, which it fell into. "Next, I'll summon Mine Mole," Kaze said.

"As expected of you to have such a cute card," Rei smiled, happily staring at the small mole with a mining pick. _[**Attack:** 1000]_

"Uh.. Right... _Cute_," Kaze muttered, awkwardly rubbing his neck. "Anyway, Mine Mole, attack Sherry directly," Kaze shouted.

"I activate Floral Shield! Not only will it negate your attack, it will allow me to draw one card," Sherry said as a small flower appeared before the attacking monster, causing it to stop. As soon as it did, the flower quickly blew up, causing the small mole to go scampering back to the other side.

"Then that will be all," Kaze said, so I took my draw.

"I'll summon Elecsquirrel in Attack Mode! I'll also equip it with Horn of the Unicorn, which will give it a 700 Attack Point boost," I said. Once the twitching red, now horned, squirrel appeared, I made sure to think about my strategy once more. _[**Attack:** 1400]_ "Elecsquirrel can attack twice per turn, so I'll use the first attack to attack your face down monster," I said. _[**Koalakko: Defense:** 1600]_

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 7800 LP]_

"Due to Elecsquirrel's effect, Koalakko can now no longer use its effect! Then, with my second attack, I'll attack Mine Mole," I shouted.

"Trap Activate! Claymore Mine," Kaze shouted, promptly causing my monster to be blown up.

"I'll activate Horn of the Unicorn's effect then. When it's sent from the field to the Cemetery, I can put it to the top of my deck," I muttered. "I'll finish my turn with one face down," I said.

"And once again, as it's our Standby Phase, our Wave-Motion Cannon gets a counter," Rei said, the cannon increasing in size once more.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 2]_

"I'll activate my trap, Blessing of God. We gain 500 Life Points every time we draw a card," I said.

"Jeez, Ruka. We have more in common than I though, if we have all these cards in common," Rei giggled. Of course, she had used the same card multiple times against James in their first duel, and she also had a Honest card, but that was no real comparison. She must have had other cards in common with me that I didn't even know about. "I'll attack you directly with Mine Mole then," Rei said, in which the mole charged forward once more.

"I'll activate my second trap, Drain Shield! It negates your attack and we gain Life Points equal to your monster's attack," I said. I'll have to admit, I felt a little bad for the mole as it got rebounded once more, but at the same time, hearing its grumbles of complaints made me slightly happy. It was just as Kaze had said. His monster had simply not wanted me to hear it yesterday, and nothing was abnormal...

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 8800 LP]_

"Then I'll just set one card face down. That's my turn," Rei said.

"Due to Blessing of God, we get 500 Life Points," Sherry muttered as she picked up her card, probably reluctantly acknowledging the fact that she would have to keep repeating this over and over, as Rei and Kaze would with their Wave-Motion Cannon.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 9300 LP]_

"I activate Cyclone, which I'll use to destroy Justice World," Sherry said, and once the card took its effect, the sunlight died down once more. "Then I'll summon Swift Horse of the Floral Knights! When he's summoned, I can add one Fusion or Sacred Knight Spear-Bearer to my hand. I chose Fusion," Sherry shouted as the armored house appeared before us. _[**Attack:** 400]_ "Turn end," Sherry said.

"During our Standby Phase, Wave-Motion Cannon gets another counter," Kaze said, the cannon now reaching up to his shoulders.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 3]_

"I'll set one monster face down and also one card. Mine Mole, attack their Swift Horse of the Floral Knights," Kaze shouted. Now unstopped, the mole happily rushed forward and sliced its mining pick through our monster.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 8700 LP]_

"That's all for me," Kaze said.

"Then with my draw, we get another 500 Life Points," I said as I picked up my card.

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 9200 LP]_

"That will be all," I muttered.

"Our Wave-Motion Cannon gets another counter, as it's still on the field during this Standby Phase," Rei said.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 4]_

"Mine Mole! Attack Ruka-," Rei started.

"I activate Scape Goat to summon four Scape Goat Tokens," I said before four small and circular goats appeared, each a different color. _[**All: Defense:** 0]_

"Then we'll attack the one on the far right," Rei said, her monster easily beating the defenseless token. "I'll finish my turn with one monster face down," Rei said.

"With our draw, we get 500 Life Points," Sherry said and picked up her card.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 9700 LP]_

"I summon Sacred Knight's Shield Bearer. With his effect, by removing from play one Light monster in my Cemetery, I can draw one card," Sherry said as the armored man appeared before her. _[**Attack:** 800] _"Due to Blessing of God, and the fact that this is considered a draw, we get another 500 Life Points," Sherry explained.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 10200 LP]_

"That will be all," Sherry finished.

"Since Wave-Motion Cannon is still on the field for our Standby Phase, it gets another counter," Kaze said, the cannon now sitting a few inches about his head.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 5]_

"I'll Flip Summon Lightlord Thief Rinyan! With its effect, I'll return Garos to my deck in order to draw one card," Kaze said. As soon as the white cat appeared and Kaze put Garos' card back into his deck, it automatically reshuffled itself. _[**Attack:** 100]_ "Then I'll Flip Summon Lightlord Hunter Raikou! With his effect, I can destroy one card at the price of sending the top three cards from my deck to the Cemetery. I'll chose Blessing of God," Kaze said before the white dog started barking at us, destroying the trap card as Kaze removed the cards from his deck._ [**Attack:** 200]_ "I'll switch Koalakko to attack and I'll also summon Death Koala," Kaze continued before the familiar koala appeared on his field. _[**Attack:** 1100]_

This was just like before Kaze and Sherry left, but instead of Rua, it was Rei... Kaze had managed to use Rei's cards efficiently enough to turn it into a combo of his own...

"Koalakko, Rinyan, and Ryko! Destroy the remaining three Scape Goat Tokens," Kaze shouted, in which the monsters happily obliged, leaving us with only Sherry's Shield Bearer. "Mine Mole, attack Shield Bearer," Kaze shouted.

"I activate the effect of the Honest in my hand! By discarding it, I can increase Shield Bearer's attack by your monster's," Sherry said. _[**Attack:** 1800]_

_[**Kaze and Rei:** 6850 LP]_

"Mine Mole can avoid being destroyed once per turn though," Kaze said. "Other than that, it's your move," Kaze finished.

"My move," I muttered and drew my card. "I summon Sunny Pixie! Then I'll tune Sunny Pixie with Sherry's Shield Bearer in order to Synchro Summon Magical Android," I shouted. My tuner became one ring, which Sherry's monster flew through, the two uniting to become a red haired woman with a staff and shield. _[**Attack:** 2400]_ "Then, with Sunny Pixie's effect, when it's used to Synchro Summon a Light monster, we gain 1000 Life Points," I continued.

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 11200 LP]_

"I equip Magical Android with Horn of the Unicorn in order to give her another 700 Attack Points," I said as a horn appeared on my Synchro Monster's head. _[_**_Attack:_** _3100]_ "Magical Android! Attack Koalakko," I shouted. My monster started pulling back her staff, but Kaze pressed a button on his duel disk.

"Trap Activate! Reactive Armor," Kaze said, instantly causing a suit of armor to cut through my monster.

"Then I'll activate Horn of the Unicorn's effect in order to return it to the top of my deck," I said. "Turn end," I finished.

"As it's our Standby Phase again, Wave-Motion Canon gets another counter," Rei said.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon's Counters:** 6]_

"Mine Mole! Attack Ruka directly," Rei shouted, causing the small mole to lunge forward, easily slicing its mining pick against me.

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 10200 LP]_

"Then we'll follow up with Death Koala," Rei shouted once more. This time, the attack came much more slow, as the koala wasn't as nimble as the mole.

_[**Ruka and Sherry:** 9100 LP]_

"I'll change Koalakko, Rinyan, and Ryko to Defense Mode, and that will be all for me," Rei said. Sherry took her draw.

"I remove from play the two Honest cards in our Cemetery in order to Special Summon Holy Shine Soul," Sherry said before a ghostly pale woman appeared before us. _[**Attack:** 2000] _"Holy Shine Soul! Take out Death Koala," Sherry shouted.

"Not so fast! I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! Not only will it negate your attack, but it will be put face down once more," Rei said.

"Then that will be all," Sherry muttered.

"You probably know the drill by now. Wave-Motion Cannon gains another counter as it's still on the field during this Standby Phase," Kaze said.

_[**Wave-Motion Cannon Counters:** 7]_

"I activate the Spell Hammer Shoot! With this, I can destroy the monster with the highest attack that's in Attack Position on the field! As luck would have it, it's Holy Shine Soul," Kaze said as a hammer came out of no where and slammed our monster into dust. "Death Koala! Attack Sherry directly," Kaze said, in which his monster complied.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 8000 LP]_

"Mine Mole, do your thing," Kaze continued, in which the mole rushed forward as well, slicing Sherry as best it could with its height.

[**Sherry and Ruka:** 7000 LP]

"Then I'll send Wave-Motion Cannon to the Cemetery! With a whole seven counters, it will deal exactly 7000 points of damage to you," Kaze shouted before his cannon released all of its stored out energy, which was quite a lot. Due to the fact that it was just a hologram, it didn't actual hurt, and just sent a sharp stinging feeling through my body, and probably Sherry's too.

_[**Sherry and Ruka:** 0 LP]_

"Haha! We did it! We did it, Kaze," Rei cheered and was about to cheer more but someone started clapping, causing her to stop.

"Y-you! What are you doing here," Sherry hissed as Noir finally stopped her clapping.

"I'm simply here to see Kazy," Noir smiled. From that simple remark my stomach dropped, Kaze started blushing, Rei got defensive and placed herself between the two, and Sherry's hands to ball up into fists. "Speaking of Kazy, you did a really good job in that duel," Noir said.

"Uh... Thanks," Kaze muttered, although it was clear that he was slowly inching back, most likely because of the flirty look he was getting from her. Rei and Sherry probably would have been happy at that if they weren't too busy glaring at Noir, as if it would keep her back.

"I'm sure you would have done much better if it wasn't for that Saotome girl. She was holding you back and limiting your potential, you know," Noir muttered.

"Hey! That's a lie," Rei snapped.

"Rei did everything but hold me back! I couldn't have won that duel without her," Kaze shouted, his hands slowly balling into fists like Sherry's. Noir just sighed, rubbing her temples for a few seconds.

"Of course you'd think that. You wouldn't be you if you didn't think that. Even though, the day will come when you finally realize that those three aren't going to get you anywhere in life. That they're actually holding you back. When that day comes, you're going to come over to my side, whether you like it or not," Noir smirked.

"Noir! Hey Noir," a voice called out, causing us to slowly turn, reluctant to find out who it was that knew her. I was probably the most surprised out of all of us to see James running over to the blue haired woman, quickly giving her a hug, which she returned. "It was so long since I last saw you! Where have you been," James asked.

"This is not the same James we know... It has to be some imposter. Clearly," Sherry muttered, in which I had to agree with.

"Hey! Just how do you know her," Rei demanded. Noir just turned towards us, a smirk on her face.

"I'm James' mother."

"Yup! This is Noir, my mom!"

"Y... your what," Rei asked softly.

"Now alright, James. You watch after your soon-to-be daddy, alright? Mommy's going to be busy for a while," Noir smiled, in which James nodded.

"Your what," Rei shouted.

"Who do you think you are, claiming Kaze like that again," Sherry hissed.

"I've told you time and time again. His name is Kazy," Noir muttered.

"L-look! Let's just settle this nice and peacefully! Kaze, you don't like her, right," I asked.

"Of course! Tell her how you like us over a hundred times more than you'll ever like her," Rei said.

"Uh... Guys... If she's James' mom... And James' dad runs this tournament... By insulting her, wouldn't we be in the perfect position to be kicked out of here," Kaze asked.

"Forget the tournament! Blow her off right now! Tell her you hate her guts! That you want to go off the cliff like the guy she killed! That you want her to feel the pain I felt when she kicked me," Rei shouted. She was about to vent more, clearly, but Noir started either crying or pretending to cry.

"So... So cruel," Noir murmured and wiped away a tear.

"Hey! Apologize," James shouted.

"How about she apologizes for trying to steal Kaze from us when she's already got a husband," Rei asked.

"Kaze, get over here and make Mother feel better," James said.

"W-what," Kaze asked as he started blushing once more.

"You heard me. Make her feel better," James said.

"But-," Kaze started.

"Do it or I will get you kicked off this island faster than you can even process what's going on," James growled.

"Alright, alright," Kaze muttered.

"You don't mean any of it though! None at all," Rei muttered, crossing her arms, clearly agitated with the situation.

"Be quiet! It's _your_ fault he has to do it," Sherry muttered.

"Do you want her to hear us and make him do something else," I asked, causing the two to hesitantly nod. Kaze made his way towards Noir even more hesitantly than they agreed though.

"Oh, Kazy? Would you do me a favor," Noir asked.

"Uh... Um," Kaze mumbled, but when James shot him a glare, he reluctantly nodded.

"I want you to remove my visor for me. I want you to see my face," Noir said, causing all of our eyes to widen.

"B-but Mother, you've only let Father see your face," James muttered.

"Which is exactly why I want Kazy to see it," Noir smiled.

"Well, I guess that's better than what you could have said," Kaze mumbled. "Fine. I'll do it," Kaze said.

"Wonderful," Noir smiled even wider.

"Hey. I've got a bad feeling about this," Rei muttered after she inched her way towards us.

"Yeah. Why is she making such a deal about it," Sherry muttered.

"Maybe she's trying to psych us out," I asked as Noir turned the other way, intent on not letting us see what was beneath the green visor. Regardless, the three of us intently watched, curious on what Kaze's reaction would be. To say the least, him dropping the visor not even a second after it was away from her face wasn't a really good sign. Without even seeing Noir's face, I could tell she was still smiling as wide as she was before as she bent down and picked up her visor.

"I won't tell about what you said, so no worry. As long as the judges don't think you did horrible on your duel, you'll do fine," Noir said before walking away, James quickly following her.

"Kaze! Kaze! She had a really big nose, didn't she! That's why your so surprised," Rei shouted as she ran over to Kaze, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Please. She obviously had big eyes," Sherry said.

"Or both...!"

The two eagerly awaited his answer, but Kaze just quietly closed his hands.

"Nothing special," he mumbled.

"Of course! We're so good looking that she can't even compare, no matter how she looks, right," Rei asked.

"Right," Kaze chuckled.

"Hey! Let's go back to the hotel! We have to wait for the results anyway, and I bet Rua is stuffing his face anyway, since he isn't here," Rei said before eagerly running off.

"Well? Are you coming, or do you still have business here," Sherry asked.

"No... Nothing. I was just thinking about something, that all," Kaze muttered.

"Then finish up your thinking... I have to go make sure that Rei isn't tripping over a log or something," Sherry sighed before walking off.

"Kaze," I asked after a while. Kaze still sat there silently though, something clearly bothering him. "Should we have back too," I asked.

"Yeah... It's just... I'm not feeling it right now... I kind of just want to go to the hotel and hit the hay," Kaze muttered. I nodded before taking the lead in our walk to the hotel, Kaze a couple feet behind me.

* * *

><p><em>~"You didn't even struggle with that..? I guess I'll just have to make you struggle when we meet..."~<em>

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><p><span>Notes:<span>

- A little note you may find interesting; I was originally planning on having Rei call Kaze 'My man' or something of the sort, which would break out in a fight between her and Sherry, which Ruka would be too scared to enter. This approach is much more fun and suspenseful (Or at least in my opinion)

- Here is the English/Japanese card list:

English - Japanese

Graveyard - Cemetery  
>Solar Recharge - Solar Exchange<br>Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter - Lightlord Hunter Raikou  
>Realm of Light - Justice World<br>Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior - Lightlord Warrior Garos  
>Polymerization - Fusion<br>Sacred Knight's Spearholder - Sacred Knight Spear-Bearer  
>Horse of the Floral Knights - Swift Horse of the Floral Knights<br>Centaur Mina - Centaurmina  
>Widespread Ruin - Claymore Mine<br>Wattsquirrel - Elecsquirrel  
>Solemn Wishes - Blessing of God<br>Draining Shield - Drain Shield  
>Mystical Space Typhoon - Cyclone<br>Scapegoat - Scape Goat  
>Rinyan, Lightsworn Rogue - Lightlord Thief Rinyan<br>Sea Koala - Koalakko  
>Des Koala - Death Koala<br>Sakurestu Armor - Reactive Armor  
>Soul of Purity and Light - Holy Shine Soul<br>Hammer Shot - Hammer Shoot

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><p><em>Reviews:<em>

The Wild Fang: It is actually explained why Noir has an attachment to Kaze later. Probably not what you'd be thinking, but oh well.

GodzillaG: It's all because of the hat xD Every guy I know who wears a hat all the time has bad things happen to him... That's what you get for wearing hats indoors (Apparently my friends believe that gives you bad luck, so...)


	13. Final Round: Start

"Ruka! Ruka! C'mon! Wake up, wake up," Rei's voice whispered as I felt someone shake my shoulders.

"What is it," I mumbled, slowly bringing myself to wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I apparently wasn't allowed to get up on my own, as I was snapped awake when a pair of arms wrapped around my own, quickly lifting me into the air. "Sh-Sherry! Rei! Put me down," I shouted, doing my best to struggle against the two elder girls beside me.

"Just be quiet! We have to show you something," Rei said before the two whisked me away.

"Sherry! Rei!"

* * *

><p>"And so you see, you have to chop this really thin. If you don't, then it's not considered-," Kaze started, but when the double doors were slammed open, he couldn't help but stop his talking as Sherry and Rei carried me into the room. I couldn't stop my face from turning red and I turn away. "Guys," Kaze asked as James impatiently pushed up his glasses, clearly agitated about some fact of our arrival.<p>

"That! That's the problem," Rei shouted and pointed her free hand towards Kaze, causing him to blink a few times before sighing.

"Mother was right. I think you _have _lost it," James murmured.

"Look at the time, Ruka," Rei said, in which I slowly looked towards the clock on the wall.

"So...? What's wrong...? It's only six in the-," I started, but quickly paused. Kaze... awake... before ten...?

"See," Rei asked.

"Kaze, you have a fever, don't you! You should be in bed resting," I panicked as Sherry and Rei let go. I surprisingly managed to land on my feet.

"Have you guys really lost it," Kaze asked.

"You're up at six! You're never up at six! _Ever_," Rei said.

"Well, I felt like waking up early today," Kaze said.

"Okay, here's the plan. I'll get some ropes, and we'll tie him up. Then we'll drag him back up to his room before this fever gets to his head," Sherry muttered, in which Rei quickly nodded, and I nodded much more hesitantly.

"There's nothing wrong. Father simply got rid of the cooks, as there's no reason to keep them with only eight people staying. We can cook on our own," James said.

"Eight people," I asked.

"Well, there's us, Rua, and James' parents. Everyone else left," Kaze muttered. "Ah! The food," Kaze shouted before quickly turning back to the oven and stirring whatever was in the pot.

"So... The six of us passed the round," Sherry asked.

"No. Only you four passed," James said. "You see, I forfeited because I refused to have someone say I used my parents to get to the final round. Then, Rua's style was judged as too reckless, so he didn't pass. He's still here because he's Ruka's brother," James continued.

"If you guys don't mind, things might get crazy once the food is almost done. You wouldn't mind waiting in the dining room would you," Kaze asked.

"Uh... No. It's fine," I muttered, still not entirely convinced that he just wanted to wake up early. I was also uneasy with the fact that Noir was still on the island and the amount of people around dramatically decreased.

"Well, you know where is the dining hall is, come on," James said before leading the three of us out of the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys! This is so neat, huh," Rua asked eagerly, his utensils clenched tightly in his hands.<p>

"When did you get here," James asked.

"I, uh... Snuck in because I was hungry," Rua chuckled, causing James to sigh.

"Why are you so happy? You didn't advance," Sherry said.

"Well, you four are the only ones left! That means the wish will be in good hands, no matter what! Then I don't have to duel you guys either," Rua smiled. After his comment, the doors to the kitchen opened and Kaze walked out, his hat off and his hair in a crude ponytail, most likely which he put up to make sure no hair would get in the food. He also was balancing a tray on his hands.

"Sorry it took-," Kaze started, but quickly had to stop and focus his attention on keeping the tray balanced as James tackled him with a hug.

"Father! You're going to eat with us," James asked eagerly, causing Kaze to shoot us a confused glance.

"Oh heck no! Having your mother claiming his is bad enough! You don't go along with it," Rei shouted as she stood up, clearly ready to drag James away.

"But this is my father, not Kaze," James insisted.

"Uh... Sorry to disappoint... But I really am Kaze," Kaze muttered.

"Oh... S... Sorry," James muttered before awkwardly pulling away, causing Rei to slowly sit down.

"Does Kaze look similar to your father or something," Sherry asked as Kaze started putting the plates of food on the table. Before he could finish, or James could answer, two fingers were placed on the back of his neck, quickly causing him jump.

"Oh great... Look who decided to join us," Sherry grumbled, causing a smile to slowly appear on Noir's face as Kaze slid to the side, getting out of her reach.

"You better not be going after Kaze again! Let's not forget that you have a husband," Rei muttered, her arms crossed tightly. Noir just ignored Rei though and took her seat next to James as Kaze finished putting the food down. Afterwards, he had to take the only seat still left, which was between Noir and I.

"L-let's try to just have a nice breakfast, alright...? We don't need to be fighting this early," Kaze said, although her surely felt awkward sitting next to Noir.

"Of course. I would hate to get off on the wrong foot with your friends," Noir smiled once more.

"We're already on the wrong feet here," Rei noted.

"You'll just makes things worse by continuing this," Kaze muttered before taking a drink of his water.

"Listen to Kazy please...! We don't need to keep fighting," Noir said before slowly putting her hand back on Kaze's neck, causing him to start choking on the water.

"It's alright everyone! I know how to do 'Mouth-to-mouth'," Rei shouted as she quickly jumped on her feet.

"It probably just went down the wrong pipe, or whatever they call it now. He should be fine," Noir sighed before returning her hand to her side and Kaze finishing his coughing.

"Uhm... Are you alright, Kaze," I asked, still constricted by the heavy atmosphere of the room "Yeah... Just... Please, don't do that again," Kaze muttered.

"So no mouth-to-mouth," Rei asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kaze muttered, causing Rei to dejectedly sit down.

"Mother, when will Father be arriving," James asked.

"Not to mention, does he really look like Kaze," Rua asked.

"Well, your father won't be showing up. Something came up during the preparation of the final round," Noir explained. "Speaking of the final round, after we finish eating, I need you four to come with me. The round will be starting shortly after this," Noir continued.

"You better not keep pulling the moves on Kaze," Rei said.

"What's that supposed to mean? What 'moves'?"

"Oh you know what I'm talking about! What's with stroking his neck like that!"

"I'm not allowed to connect with a friend of my son...?"

"Connecting! If that's connecting, then just what do you think putting the moves on someone is?"

"Well, I can always show you..."

"If you guys just hurry up and eat, the sooner you'll never have to see each other again," Kaze muttered, slowly feeling the atmosphere of the room as well.

"That's right! Come on, Sherry! How much food can you shove down your throat at one time," Rei asked.

"You talking is wasting time," Sherry noted, causing Rei to quickly start eating her food and the rest of us to sigh.

* * *

><p>"Alright, plain and simple. There are four paths. You pick one and go through," Noir muttered.<p>

"And the point of this is," Sherry asked.

"There's a card key placed at some point on all four paths. Pick it up and take it to the end of the path. Depending on what card it is, it will decide the course of action at the end," Noir said. I was simply staring at the paths though. It was only the five of us in a small room that went off in four separate paths, if you wanted to go forward that is. "So, Kazy, you take the first path. Sherry the second, Rei the third, and Ruka gets the fourth," Noir said.

"Why do you get to choose," Rei asked.

"No reason. Just to get things moving," Noir sighed, although with the small smile forming on her lips, you could tell there was a reason for this.

"Well, no use in complaining. Let's just get this over with," Kaze said before heading off for the path Noir had told him to go through, which was the one on the far left.

"Come on, guys! Once we finish this round, we'll finally get the wish! Whoever gets the wish can get Kaze too," Rei whispered.

"Actually," I muttered, causing the two to turn towards me. "I... if I do win... I'm not going to use the wish for Kaze," I muttered.

"Why not? It's the easiest way to get what you want," Rei said.

"I'm not going to use it for that either. There are better things to use the wish for then to create false love. I'd probably use it to get rid of Yliaster or something," Sherry said.

"You do know Kazy is getting a head start, right," Noir asked.

"Well... Good luck then... And may the best duelist win," Rei smiled before running through her path. Sherry, clearly sensing something was wrong, took her path more slowly.

"Aren't you going to go ahead too," Noir asked, her smile returning.

"Uh.. Yeah," I muttered before heading off for my path. If I had turned around for just a brief second, I would have seen a wide smirk appear on the blue haired woman's face and maybe I would have seen what was coming and what she meant when she said, "Good luck."

* * *

><p><em>~Finally... Like insects to a flame... You'll come to me... And soon, I will have my revenge...!~<em>

* * *

><p><em>Reviews:<em>

Seiei: You aren't really supposed to see the connection. You'll probably get it (or form a theory close to it) after the next chapter.

The Wild Fang: As I said above, the connection between Kaze and Noir should be revealed (for the most part) in the next chapter, and after that, the villain shows up, yada yada yada, so hopefully things will get much better

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><p><em>Notes:<em>

- In case I have started this, most of the scenes that take place are based off of my friends and what happened with a guy they all liked. I had one friend who would always say she could preform mouth-to-mouth if something went wrong with him, so Rei's personality came off of that event (Those two are so close it's almost scary o-o') Instead of the boy cooking and it being breakfast, it was snack time and he was sharing his Lego Gummies... I should have had Kaze have Lego Gummies...

- Going along with the next chapter, this chapter is seriously 'Blah' (unless I'm crazy and just see it as that) so hopefully the next one will be done soon...


	14. The Innocent Kaze

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. I also couldn't help but wonder how long I've been walking. This hall looked the exact same as it had at the beginning... I reluctantly continued on my way. No signs of a card key, or whatever it was that I was supposed to find. No sign of anything but metal walls and floor to be exact...

Just as I was about to give up hope that there was an exit or there would be a change in the path, I noted that there was another path that met up with mine. Judging by the fact that Sherry's path was the second, and mine was first, I figured it was her's but after waiting a few minutes and seeing no sign of the blond, I decided to continue on my way. This time, I only stopped when I heard a click as my foot hit the ground. I managed to take a few steps forward before a wooden stick shot out of no where, missing me by a few inches. Of course, I had expected it. I was actually waiting for some type of attack. I hadn't expected a blunt piece of wood though. It probably would have only gave me a little red mark, but better to be safe then sorry I guess, as there's no way to be sure how fast it was going.

"Kaze," a voice called out, causing me to quickly turn as I heard another click.

"Sherry! Get down," I shouted. As the piece of wood came flying at her, she simply turned and hit it away with her hand.

How come I didn't think of doing that...? Oh right, probably because if I tried that, I'd be hit in the face... My reaction timing, not to mention strength, was nothing like Sherry's...

"What was that about getting down," Sherry asked.

"Nothing... Nothing at all," I mumbled as Sherry started making her way towards me once more, which is when I remembered that there were another switch near me. Out of instinct, I quickly forgot that Sherry could easily protect herself and tackled her to the ground as there was another click. Once I finally heard the clattering of the wood falling to the ground, I started pushing myself off the ground, as my face was turning pink because of how close I was to Sherry. What I wasn't expecting was for Sherry to latch her hands onto my wrists, which caused me to stop. "S... Sherry," I asked softly, the pink on my face escalating to a light red.

"Nobody is around... We're finally alone once more... Let's stay, just like this, forever and ever," Sherry murmured.

"We can't do that! What about the tournament! What about Rei and-," I started but Sherry happily cut me off.

"Forget about everything else. Forget about every_one_ else. You're the only thing that matters to me. Forget the wish. Forget the others," Sherry said, her tone sounding as if she didn't care about our friends at all.

"How can you say that," I snapped.

"Fine, fine," Sherry sighed, clearly unhappy with my reaction. "Let's go and get that wish. Let's meet up with the others. I'll destroy you in the final round! I'll use that wish to make us together forever and keep the others away," Sherry smirked, causing my eyes to widen.

"You aren't Sherry," I muttered and tried to pull my hands away, but Sherry might as well have been stone.

"Oh, but I am," Sherry said. "I'm just sick of not getting what I want. Of being ignored by you. For my attempts to make you my man to be brushed aside. Is it so wrong of me to finally snap...? To finally have to get forceful to get what I want," Sherry asked.

"This isn't Sherry! You can't be her! Sherry would never act like this..! Sherry would never say things like this," I growled, refusing to give up on my attempts to pull away.

"But I _am _Sherry," Sherry insisted, a pleading look in her eyes. "This is just the side of me that you've never seen! This... This is the true Sherry LeBlanc! This is the real me," Sherry said, a small smirk reappearing on her face. I quickly gather my strength and ripped my hands out of Sherry's grip, quickly staggering to my feet and backing away.

"Stop lying to me! You aren't Sherry! Sherry is nothing like this! She isn't someone who would act like this," I shouted as Sherry made her way to her feet as well. After finally standing up, she started walking towards me, a hand outstretched, as if to touch my cheek, but I quickly pulled back, causing her eyes to grow sad, as if she were about to start crying, yet she didn't. Suddenly, the sorrow disappear and it was replaced with another smirk appearing on Sherry's lips.

"Oh, I see... The innocent you is still dominant," Sherry murmured, a hand resting on her chin, as if she was thinking of something. "Once I finally awaken the true man inside you... Once I finally do that, then you'll finally be mine," Sherry said, her smirk growing wider.

"You're definitely not Sherry...! Definitely," I muttered and took a few steps back, not knowing that I was advancing towards one of the walls.

"Please, just stop talking. I'm starting to get bothered by the innocent you. Until you finally awaken as a man... _My_ man, just don't talk," Sherry said, closing the distance between us, as I finally hit the wall. "And I know just the perfect way to do it," Sherry smiled as her gloved hand reached for my chest. Once I realized what she was reaching for, I quickly swatted her hand away, causing her smile to turn to a frown. "Do I need to rephrase that...? Don't talk, don't move, don't even think until you reawaken as my man," Sherry hissed before ripping the three gold bars off my necklace, which I quickly tried to reclaim, but Sherry used her other hand to swat me away.

"You better not ruin then, or I'll-," I started, but Sherry lightly slapped me with her free hand, causing my cheek to turn red.

"What did I say about talking," Sherry asked, causing me to glare at her. "And what will you do? I'm curious. Let's not forget who's easily the strongest," Sherry teased, eagerly trying to get me to talk once more, so she could find a reason to hit me once more. "I get it..._ These _are why you're still innocent! These sentimental pieces of metal... They're from your parents, aren't they," Sherry asked.

"What of it...? You have your stuffed bear," I muttered, not really fearing whatever assault she might give me.

"Hm... So... If I take these and make them disappear... Then will you finally be the man I know that's inside you," Sherry asked, ignoring my comment.

"Give them back now," I demanded. Sherry just stared at me for a few seconds before putting her hand out. Just as I reached to reclaim the bars, Sherry quickly clenched her hands, creating a loud crunch that caused me to twitch. Before I could even think of reacting, Sherry quickly threw the pieces of the bars to the side and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me to the ground.

"Now, be quiet...! If you stay quiet, I promise it'll all be over quickly... _Kazy..._"

I couldn't read the signs then, but how could you expect me to? The only momento I had of my parents was broken to pieces and this sick imposter of Sherry was drawing closer and closer with ever passing second. I hadn't taken note of what the imposter had called me or what I had seen under Noir's visor. One simple word just ran through my mind.

_Panic._

I had to panic.

I couldn't sit here and think about it. I had to move. I was an animal before the knife, so why wouldn't my body respond? Why couldn't I ball my hand into a fist and hit the person before me? Why couldn't I open my mouth to scream for help, as I, apparently, was paralyzed, or whatever was wrong with me now... "Hey, Kazy...? Before I get rid of the innocent you, is there a message you'd like me to give to your friends? You know, last words," Sherry asked, stopping a few inches from my face.

Panic... I had to panic... I had to do something... Anything!

I managed to pull myself together for a few brief seconds, as I was able to clench my hand and quickly hit it against Sherry's face, sending her falling to the side, where she stayed.

I... I just punched a girl...! Wait, who cares! I have to get out of here, because whatever this girl has planned for me, it isn't good. "Naughty naughty Kazy... I was going to be nice to you," Sherry murmured as she pushed herself back up, wiping some blood off of her lip.

"_Nice? _Just who are you! What do you want with me," I shouted.

"I figured you were better than this," Sherry murmured before placing her hand a couple feet beside her. "Oh well. The results won't change if I knock you out first," Sherry smirked as a click resounded through the hall. The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my head and I was on the ground, a piece of wood now resting on my chest. I found myself unable to move and my vision fading as Sherry made her way over to me. My conscious faded long before she reached me though.

_"Night night... Kazy."_

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- This was so fun to write, believe it or not. Seemed like a total plot twist, and then it wasn't, and bam. So, if you didn't, for some reason, gather the identity of the fake Sherry, it's Noir. For some super special magical reason, she can look like Sherry.. Ah no, it's going to be explain in a while... If it's any help to you, when Kaze refers to what was under Noir's visor, he thought that she and Sherry were twins or something, as they have the same face. So, he's stating that he forgot that he thinks Sherry has a twin, which would have explained why 'Sherry' was acting crazy.

- I'm too lazy to put 'Sherry', as in Kaze knows it's someone else, but she still looks Sherry, but I put Sherry so many times that I kind of got too lazy...

- I'll leave what Noir's going to do to your imagination. It may or may not show up later though. Depends on how things flow.

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><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>  
><em>  
>- <span>The Wild Fang:<span> It's just a blue moon that day, because since I couldn't think of anything, and the chapters kind of have to be separated (kind of explanatory since the PoV changes) I made something up. I had originally planned for it to be after this main stretch, but then the plot changed, so I threw it in here. I never specified the food, too, so he could have made toast and eggs for all we know xD

- bryan102694: Well don't push yourself or anything o-o' I hope everythings alright there.


	15. In Sherry's Heart

This was wrong. Something was wrong here. Of course, I couldn't put my finger on it, but a barren hall...? No one around...? No traps? Something had to be set up. Why else would Noir pick our paths for us?

"Let's see... This should be the way, but," a voice muttered, causing me to look up, ignoring the thoughts in my head. I saw that my path had suddenly changed and now met up with another. Seeing as no one else wore red that was in this round, it must have been Kaze. Why would he be waiting where our paths met though...? There was only one way to find out. I changed my pace from a slow walk to nearing a jog to quickly close the space. Surprisingly he wasn't wearing his hat, but I took no heed to it.

"Hey-," I started. Words wouldn't form in my mouth after what Kaze did next though. Kaze spun around and looked at me for a brief second before smiling and wrapping one arm around my back and pulling me against his chest, his other hand resting on my head.

"Nice to see you again," Kaze said, his smile getting wider.

Ha... To think, here I would be with a beat red face... Well, I guess it's not every day that Kaze puts the moves on someone... Wait... Kaze _never_ tries to put the moves on anyone...!

"Get your filthy hands off me, you fake," I hissed.

"Oh, if you didn't like it, you'd get away on your own," Kaze said, causing me to twitch before ripping myself away from his grip. "Now now, no need to act like you don't know me. None of the contestants are around. I checked," 'Kaze' sighed.

"You think I wouldn't notice that you're being a total flirt? Kaze is nothing like that," I said.

"Jeez, you must have gone crazy...! How can you not remember me," 'Kaze' murmured, running a hand through his free hair.

"Who are you...? Are friend of Noir or a robot she made," I asked. Kaze's eyes widened for a few seconds before he started laughing. "What's so funny," I demanded.

"Oh, you aren't Noir at all! That explains it," Kaze said, his laughter slowly dying down.

"What's that supposed to mean! I look nothing like that wench," I shouted, earning a rough slap that causing my eyes to widen.

Did... he... he just...

Wait, what am I getting sentimental over! This isn't Kaze! He just looks like him!

"Don't you _ever_ talk about my wife that way again, or I'll show you true pain," Kaze growled.

"Yliaster, huh," I asked as I placed my hand on my red cheek.

"I'm nothing like my master, if that's what you're implying. I have not the slightest bit of kindness in me. I will destroy everyone and everything on this vexatious planet," Kaze said.

"Y-you...! You were with Zone, weren't you," I shouted, in which Kaze simply frowned. "T-that means... You're-," I started, but quickly stopped when I heard footsteps.

My eyes widen when I saw a woman who looked exactly like me make her way towards us, licking what seemed to be blood off of her gloved hand. More importantly, she came from further down the path, and if these paths truly met up...

"Perfect. You can deal with her. I have other things to do," Kaze muttered before walking away, going off in the direction that my fake came from.

"H-hey! Where do you-," I started but my look a-like walked between the two of us. "You came from where Kaze is, didn't you," I asked.

"Of course. Him and I had a great time," she smiled.

"Then who's blood is that," I shouted.

"That's a secret," the blond smiled. "But I'd like to tell you something before we continue... There's something that Kazy wanted me to tell you."

"Noir! What's going on," I snapped.

"Well, I could explain it all in a few sentences, but where would the fun in that be? I need to tell you Kazy's last few words," Noir said. I quickly grabbed the woman's shirt in my hand and hoisted her into the air.

"_You...!_ How... How dare you," I snarled and prepared to attack, but Noir started laughing. "What's so funny! Is murder honestly amusing to you," I asked.

"Oh, I didn't murder Kazy. I did the exact opposite. I gave him a rebirth," Noir smiled.

"Explain yourself," I shouted, shaking Noir in my hand, as if it would help make her talk.

"Fine. I'll start off with why I look like you. In turn, I'd like you to let me go though. You're ruining my clothes," Noir murmured. I twitched before throwing her to the side, although she easily landed on her feet.

"Talk...! Or else," I said.

"I look like you simply because... I've always looked like you. I dyed my hair so you wouldn't see it, and the visor was another bonus," Noir said.

"Why do you look like me in the first place! I'm an only child! I have no siblings," I said.

"I'm you. I look like you simply because I _am_ you. From the future, to be quite exact," Noir said, causing my eyes to widen.

"You... You're what," I asked, trying to process the information.

Noir and I... We were... the same person...?

No, that's a lie! It's just like Yusei and Zone! I was nothing like her! We may share the same looks and fighting skill, but that's it! I'm nothing like her!

"Oh, someone's having trouble with the facts," Noir muttered, clearly enjoying my struggling with understanding.

"What kind of lies are these! You're with Yliaster! You're just trying to confuse me," I shouted.

"Technically, I'm not. We've had our motives set long before Yliaster was created, and we didn't team up with that idiotic Zone," Noir muttered.

"'We'... You mean you and that fake Kaze, right," I asked.

"Fake Kaze," Noir asked, seeming to be confused. "Oh! More denial, more denial," Noir giggled, causing my fists to clench. "You see, whether you like it or not, I'm you. I'm you in the future. But I'm positive that this one_ tiny _fact will make you fully wish the fact was true and push you to believing it," Noir muttered, clearly trying to make things more dramatic then they had to be.

"Spit it out! You said you'd talk," I hissed.

"Fine. Simply put... My husband... He's Kazy from the future as well," Noir smiled. My eyes widened once more and my mouth slowly fell open.

Kaze... Kaze and I... in the future, we... The two of us are... _married...?_ Not to mention... The two of us would plan on destroying the world... and the two of us... we would have a kid...?

"T... That's a lie," I managed to say.

"Still in denial? Do you want proof or something," Noir asked.

"Just be quiet! All you say is a lie! I refuse to believe that," I shouted.

"But in your heart, you do. You know and you want. Deep down in your heart, you crave for what I say to be true. I'm happy to inform you that it is," Noir said.

Why was I denying it...? What did I refuse to believe it...? It was everything I had ever dreamed, yet hearing it... It still gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. What if Noir had stated something like Rei and Kaze were together in the future, or he and Ruka...? Would I have felt better, or would I have felt worse? No, of course I would feel worse. It was as Noir had said. In my heart, I wanted for Kaze and I to be together, yet the circumstances made everything wrong...

Though, to go against what Noir was saying when she was already tense about some matter, most likely the departure of her husband, wouldn't be a good thing for me... So maybe... maybe if I try and stall... I can get some answers out of her... No matter how much I hate it. No matter how much I want to believe that this is all lies. Noir seems to know most of what's going on here, so... If I can just swallow my pride for a few minutes...

"So then... James is... our kid... I mean, mine and Kaze's, right," I asked softly, slightly taking Noir by surprise.

"Oh, him? No," Noir said.

"You said that you're me. If your husband is Kaze, then that would have to mean he is," I said..

"No. He's nobody's child," Noir said. "You've noticed the signs, haven't you? That device that James wears. He doesn't wear it because he wants to. If he doesn't, he'll die," Noir continued, calmly brushing over the topic of death once more.

A child who had no parents... Who also had to wear a piece of machinery to live... Either he has some chronic disease, or he had to be some robot. If... Only _if_...! If what Noir told me is true, then a Ghost wouldn't be impossible. I should have seen the signs long ago though. When Noir said she was James' mother. The age gap was too close. Then again, I had no true idea of how old Noir was...

"What happens to the others in the future," I asked.

"Well, that's not for me to tell. I've spoiled enough already. If I waste anymore time, poor Kazy will be all alone when he wakes up," Noir muttered and turned away. Just as I was about to demand she tell me what happened, she quickly spun back around. "You do realize that I share your feelings, right? I wouldn't do anything too drastic. So just sit here," Noir said.

"Well, if we're the same person, what's the problem with letting me come with? After all, I'll find out in a few hours anyway, won't I," I asked, causing Noir to smile.

"Finally believing, huh...? Alright then. I'll take you to Kazy. I'll be extra nice too. You two can have some alone time," Noir said before she started walking away. Against my initial thought to take her out while she wasn't looking, I decided to quickly walk after her. I figured that whatever psychic connection we have would let her know of my attack. "That's a good idea. You don't know what kind of trap I could have Kazy under. If you attacked, something might have happened," Noir said, but she didn't say anything after that and continued to lead.

We soon fell into the same state in our walking though, letting our thoughts wander and ignoring the unchanging walls around us.

How was I supposed to believe this? What was the point of going through all this trouble? If these two had the ability to travel through time, why wouldn't they save themselves the trouble of going back and erasing one of us from being born? Then James. Is he truly a Ghost...? Ruka said that he's bled once though... Then again, if they are from the future... Who says they're even from the future though? Noir could simply be pulling my leg with this, trying to psych me out. There was no clear proof, and I couldn't take anything Noir gave me.

"Well, are you going or what," Noir asked. I was stunned for a few seconds, still not used to practically talking to myself. It was then that I noticed that she was holding a door open. I hesitantly made my way inside the room, making sure to look behind me to check if Noir would show any signs of locking the door. After seeing she was patiently waiting, I did my best to look through the darkness for any figure. I only noticed that nothing was there a few seconds after the door shut and locked behind me. "Now, just stay here. I don't like people who lie to me. Once things settle down, I'll come back to get you," Noir said. "That is, if my husband doesn't get to you first."

* * *

><p>'Due to the side effects that would take place during time travel on a Ghost's body and programing, you will left behind, here, in the future. If you tried to accompany us, more than likely, you will be destroyed.'<p>

_Those were the last words you said to me before heading off for the past. Well, look who ended up being destroyed. Look who ended up surviving... I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to prove to you that you should have taken me with you. I'm going to prove that if you had taken me, then Neo Domino... No, the whole world, would have been destroyed. I'll start by getting rid of the brats who dared to inflict me with this wound. I'll send them into a pit of despair and anguish. Then, I'll destroy the original, and finally the world. I hope you're watching, Master... No, _Old Man_. You better be watching from whatever hole you're in, because your piece of scrap is going to become a king._

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- Finally the pieces all connect. Remember way back when in Jealousy when Zone started that GST-001 remained back in future? (I kind of just changed what he said in Jealousy above to make it seem like he was telling GST-001.. Because I was too lazy to make something original up) Of course he gets to be a plot element later on. And of course, he doesn't get to be alone, he has to have a friend from the future. If you take note, GST-001 was also the imposter Kaze in... Was it Chapter One...? Maybe two? Close enough, I guess. So, after this, it'll be back to Ruka's PoV.

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><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

Well, you guys just dropped a review bomb on me here xD Let's see how this goes down:

The Wild Fang:Well, I told you guys I'd try to make it fast. I honestly hated the chapter before that. Had to throw in the innocence in exchange for him to talking in this story. Figured like a good trade off. As to Noir, that probably makes sense now.

Hope:You couldn't have picked a worse people to ask that, actually, as its explained during this chapter... And I'm such a jerk that I had to throw you guys off with another character. I'm actually surprised that no one saw something like this happening. If not, the GST-001 thing. The guy from chapter 1/2/whatever didn't disappear because I had no other use for him xD

Johan0: Same with the others, really. Most of the things add up now (or they should, for the most part).

GodzillaG: It's all part of a bad luck chain. His bad luck must be caused by his hat, and the violent encounters must be caused by his complete innocence xD


	16. Ace of Hearts

"Ugh, could this be any more boring? Couldn't they throw in, I dunno, a picture or something every couple feet," Rei grumbled, adding the number of times that she complained since we found each other to 17. "My feet hurt too! Can't we take a break or something," Rei continued. Scratch that. 18 times.

"Well, look on the bright side," I said.

"And that would be," Rei asked. I opened my mouth to say something, but after a few seconds of feebly searching for the words, I slowly closed it. "That's right! I bet Kaze and Sherry are alone _again_! Nothing against you, but why don't _I_ get to spend more time with him! I just reunited with him, and we only had a few minutes of alone time," Rei sighed.

"If you're that jealous, why don't you just take him from me then," a voice said, causing both of us to jump.

"H-hey! How long have you guys been following us," Rei snapped, struggling to return her breathing to normal.

"Well, given we had to stop to pick some things up, I'd say we've been here for about five minute," Sherry said.

"Pick what up? Did you guys find whatever those card things were," I asked. The duo's response was simultaneously pulling out what seemed to be two poker cards. Kaze's had a black diamond on it and Sherry's had a black spade, but they were both aces.

"They weren't too hard to find. They were just sitting on a pedestal," Kaze said before retuning his card to his pocket. "Speaking of cards... This is yours, isn't it, Rei," Kaze asked and held out a card that was called 'Judgment Dragon'.

"How'd you find that! That's the card I threw to drive off the fake you a while back," Rei said, earning a confused look.

"I found this at my pedestal too. I knew it was one of your cards, so I figured I'd take a shot," Kaze said.

"I take it you two haven't found your cards though. We should keep going. They shouldn't be too far off," Sherry said. Just as I was about to nod, I heard a few footsteps and a barley audible voice.

_"Wait..."_

Standing several feet away from me was what appeared to be another Kaze, but it wasn't as hard as last time to see the difference. His hair was matted down, covering his eyes, and his hat was missing. His necklace was missing and his jacket was gone, leaving him in torn up jeans and a gray t-shirt. "Who are you," the Kaze beside me shouted. The other didn't reply for some time.

"I... My name is... Kaze... Kaze Kokoro," the other Kaze muttered, his voice still barley audible, but this time, it was slightly strained, as if talking gave him some sort of pain.

"That's impossible! I'm Kaze Kokoro! You have to be a fake," the Kaze beside me said. "Guys, c'mon! We have to get out of here! We don't know what he's going to pull and-," he started, but quickly stopped when Rei walked past him. I was surprised too. That Kaze that she was walking towards... He looked nothing like Kaze, and he didn't even act like Kaze. So why would she go on his side...?

"R-Rei...! What are you doing...? That isn't Kaze," I said. Rei just glared at me, as if trying to give me some sort of message, but the glare was only a few seconds long and I couldn't gather much out of it. Rei turned her attention to the Kaze beside her and latched onto his arm.

"Come on... We need to get you some medical treatment... Let's leave Ruka and her so called friends," Rei muttered before storming off, dragging the brown haired teen with her in her flee away from us.

"W-what was that about...! Do you guys know what she was talking about," I asked. I got no reply, as both Sherry and Kaze were too busy watching Rei's retreating figure.

"That... that direction," Sherry muttered, clearly thinking deeply about something.

"W-what is it...? That's the direction you wanted us to go in anyway, isn't it," I asked.

"No... I mean, we did, but now... If they're going first, then," Kaze trailed off.

"You go ahead and stop them before things get out of hand," Sherry said. Kaze simply nodded before sprinting after Rei.

"S-Sherry, what's down there that's so bad," I asked, not noticing my own stutter or the fact that I was slowly starting to shake. Of course, I didn't feel the dangerous aura at that exact moment.

"That doesn't matter right now. We have something to settle," Sherry muttered.

"Is this about Kaze? I'm not sure what went through Rei's mind-," I started, but I quickly stopped as a taser shot out of Sherry's duel disk. "Sherry," I asked softly.

"You were right, you know that...? Not everyone wants a duel in life. Things get violent," Sherry said, a smirk slowly appearing on her face. Once Sherry started laughing, I couldn't help but start backing away.

"Y-you... Rei... Rei went with the real Kaze, didn't she," I asked softly.

"It doesn't matter who that brat went with. We'll end things like we want anyway. Whether it's you or her that perishes first, I don't care," Sherry said before walking forward, placing the taser next to my face. I quickly started sweating as my body continued to shake. Once I realized what was probably coming, I quickly closed my eyes and awaited for the pain. "I... I truly despise you, you know that," Sherry murmured, causing me to slowly open my eyes.

"Why...? Just because we both like-," I started, but I stopped when I saw a glowing come out from Sherry's pocket.

"Already...? I would have figured that he could stall him for a while," Sherry murmured.

"What are you talking about...! Why are there two Kazes and-," I started, but another smirk appeared on Sherry's face, instantly causing me to stop.

"I want you to head after the others and settle a question I have," Sherry said. "So here. With this, you should do just fine," Sherry said before pulling out a poker card different than her own. It had a red heart on it and was also an ace.

"T-This is-," I started once more.

"It's the card you need to advance. So I want you to go after the others," Sherry said as I slowly took the card, staring at it for a few seconds.

"How did you get this," I asked.

"Let's just say I have my ways," Sherry murmured. "Now. Like I said, I want you to settle a question for me. I want you... When you met up with Rei, I want you to ask her how she knew. How she knew who was the real Kazy and who wasn't. If you figure that out and let me know, then I'll answer one of your questions. How does that sound," Sherry asked. Without even giving me a chance to answer, Sherry turned away and left, leaving me more confused then I already was.

Kazy...? Isn't that what Noir called Kaze...? Why was Sherry... Unless, this Sherry...

I slowly looked down at the card in my hand. Of course not. Noir looked nothing like Sherry... But...

Anyway... Was this the card I was supposed to find...? Does that mean that Sherry had taken my card? Was she originally planning on keeping it so that I wouldn't make it through the final round...? Was she planning on keeping the wish to herself and... Did she have Rei's card as well? I quickly shook the questions out of my head before placing the card in my pocket and running off after Rei.

* * *

><p>"Guys! Hold up," I called out, but regardless of my attempt, Rei continued moving forward at the same hurried pace. "R-Rei! Come on! Slow down," I shouted, ignoring the slight pain in my chest from running as hard as I could. After a few seconds, Rei eventually stopped, letting me catch up to her. "T-Thanks," I muttered.<p>

"What are you doing here," Rei asked, not even bothering to look at me.

"D-Don't do a 360 like-," I started.

"Why exactly am I not allowed here? I made it to this round fair and square," a voice said, causing me to look up from my panting to see Sherry standing in front of us.

"How... how did you get here? You went the other way," I said.

"Who cares which way she went! You're with that other Kaze, aren't you! Well I won't let you hurt him anymore," Rei said.

"You saw a fake. That was a Ghost and a person pretending to be me," Sherry explained. A Ghost... Not to mention that this Ghost looked like Kaze...

"You mean.. GST-001 and a fake you," I asked. Sherry nodded.

"Like I'd believe-," Rei started.

"Whether you trust me or not doesn't matter. The Kaze and me you saw from before are planning on something. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, they're going to use it to destroy everything! Wouldn't you want all the help you can get," Sherry asked.

"W... Well yeah... But who says I can trust you! Who says you won't hurt us," Rei asked.

"The Sherry we saw went the other way, I'm sure of it! I didn't see her on the way here either! So I think this is the real Sherry," I said.

"If you doubt what Ruka says too, wouldn't the fact that Kaze isn't doing anything when he was attacked by the other me prove he knows I'm the real Sherry," Sherry asked.

"Well, I guess, but," Rei trailed off.

"Ruka."

It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Kaze, speaking as soft as he was not to long ago.

"Yeah," I asked.

"Your hair ties," Kaze mumbled.

"What about them," I asked.

"Oh! I get it! If they wear something noticeable that the others don't have, then it'd be easy to tell them apart! So if we give Sherry here one, then since the others don't have you with them, they wouldn't be able to impersonate you guys," Rei said. "Smart as ever, Kaze! No wonder you always aced the tests at Duel Academy," Rei grinned. Kaze didn't say anything after that, slowly causing her grin to fade.

"Sherry... Do you know what's wrong with Kaze," I asked.

"Noir did something. What, I don't know. She said something about a rebirth though," Sherry muttered, carefully looking up, as if not wanting Kaze to hear. He was clearly off in his own thoughts though, causing Sherry to sigh.

"Hey! Kaze! What'd Noir do to you," Rei asked, clearly not caring about being subtle.

"Y-you idiot! What do you think you're-," Sherry started.

"It wasn't Noir... It... It was Sherry," Kaze said. Sherry didn't seem as stunned about the fact as we did.

"S-Sherry! What the heck were you thinking! So help me, I'll-," Rei started.

"Don't you remember? There's an imposter running around. Kaze must have not seen the difference," Sherry said, causing Rei to grumble her complaints, still apparently not wanting to believe Sherry.

"And what did 'Sherry' do to you," I asked.

"I dunno... Things get blurry... She said something about getting rid of the innocent me or something. Something about making me her man too... After that, she used a trap that was set up to-," Kaze started, but his voice cracked and he broke out coughing, which lasted for a few seconds.

"Dang it... I went through a lot of things at Da, but now... I didn't know that Duel Monsters could go this far... For those guys to use them to get us here and...to trap us like mice and come after us one by one with trick after trick... Things are so crazy now," Rei murmured.

"We don't have time to be sentimental though. Noir will be coming any minute if what Ruka said is true. No doubt she'll want to finish what she started. She defiantly won't like that I escaped too," Sherry said. I slowly pulled my playing card out, staring it for a few seconds.

"Guys, this is the card we need to move on. I'll take this and go to the end...! Then I'll win the wish and I'll use it to end all of this," I said.

"Didn't you hear James? His parents run this thing. They're giving the wish. Those two won't give you the wish to stop them," Rei said.

"Well, yeah, but-," I started, but Rei suddenly walked away.

"Hey Kaze? What're you doing," Rei asked, peering over the brown haired teen's shoulder. It was then that I noticed that he was holding his phone out and it was lit up. "Sherry, what're you doing calling him when he's not even five feet away from you," Rei asked. Sherry just blinked for a few seconds before pulling out her phone, which was closed.

"If Sherry's not calling him, then who is," I asked. Without even considering the fact, Kaze simply opened his phone.

"Hello," he asked.

"Oh good. You don't have the others with you, do you," Noir's voice asked.

"Yeah, he does," Rei said as she ripped the phone out of Kaze's grip, regardless of the fact that it was on speaker.

"No matter. Kazy, we need to finish what we started," Noir said.

"No way! Isn't what you already did enough," Rei shouted.

"If you don't come to me alone, the other brat gets it. I do mean it this time," Noir muttered.

"Other brat," Rei asked softly. Noir wouldn't hurt James... And since the only people who are on the island are... That means...!

"Rua! What did you do with Rua," I shouted.

"He's with James right now, but if anyone else shows up, I won't hesitate to tell him to get into a duel with him and end him," Noir said.

"What kind of coward are you! He didn't do anything, so leave him out of this," Sherry said.

"Hey... How'd you get out so easily? Why are you getting all defensive again," Noir asked, causing Sherry to slowly take a step back. When she saw Kaze starting to walk off, she quickly regained her composure and walked forward.

"S-Sherry! W-wait, don't-," I started, remembering what had happened on the Arc Cradle. Regardless, Sherry reeled her arm back and let it fly forward with no hesitation, easily sending the unsuspecting Kaze to the ground.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, Sherry," Rei shouted.

"Just who are you! You aren't Kaze, because Kaze isn't this shallow of a man. Kaze would see that this is a trap and think of a way out of it, just not head blindly into it," Sherry said, causing all of us to go quiet.

"And Sherry wouldn't destroy my necklace and attack me, yet here we are," Kaze muttered, causing Sherry to twitch. Just as she was about to punch him once more, Rei quickly got between the two.

"Haven't you been listening! That was Noir trying to trick you," Sherry said.

"Both of you, knock it off," Rei snapped.

"That's right. You're wasting my time. I have better things to do, like telling James to attack that brat," Noir said.

"You knock it off too! Just who are you, really," Rei asked. The call ended before any reply came, but not because Noir hung up the phone. Sherry walked over and closed the phone on her own. "Hey! What's your problem," Rei asked.

"I'm going to go stop Noir on my own. You two stay here and watch over Kaze and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Sherry said, walking off before giving us any chance to reply.

"Ruka. Go after Sherry," Kaze said, startling me.

"B-but she said she wants to go on her own! If I go, who knows what she'll do," I muttered.

"This is a job that only you can do. If I go, Sherry will sock me around more than she already has. If Rei goes, Sherry will probably just ignore her and go another way. She probably will let you come with since she partnered up with you earlier. She probably will trust you. So please, go after Sherry. I've got a bad feeling about her seeing Noir alone," Kaze said.

"Hey! You're talking now," Rei noted.

"Heh... I guess Sherry knocked me out of being quiet," Kaze chuckled.

He... He was trusting me to watch after Sherry and keep her from harm...? It was something only I could do...?

"Alright, Kaze! I'll do it! And I won't let you down," I said. Kaze nodded his thanks before I ran off after Sherry.

* * *

><p><em>Reviews:<em>

- 2dayIsUrDay: Yeah, I am xD Had a little trouble with plot details and had to rewrite the Noir/Ruka scene about three times and the final scene about six times... Yeah... Kind of sucked... Didn't help that I had four tests coming up when I was writing it and I was slipping up in the classes they were in...

The Wild Fang- Yup. That's pretty much it. I'm glad that it wasn't too confusing and it seems you guys got it.


	17. Doom Vs Justice

_Several Minutes Ago..._

"Hey. Wake up already," a voice said, causing me to slowly open my eyes. Of course, due to the condition that I had put Kaze in, it was easy to tell the difference between him and GST-001.

"I'm awake, just bored," I sighed before rolling over the other way.

"If you're that bored, why don't you just handle that Rua brat and let me end this thing," GST-001 said, clearly agitated, but doing his best to hide it.

"But where would the fun in that be? You said it yourself, you want to see them struggle. This way, I can make all of them squirm," I smirked, not caring if he could see it or not. My husband didn't reply for quite some time, causing me to roll back around and look at him. "What? You want to make them squirm instead," I asked.

"No, it's just something that's been bugging me. You had the perfect chance to get rid of all of them and you've been letting them all go. Why is that? Are you getting soft," GST-001 asked.

"You'd prefer I get of them all on my own," I retorted, causing him to give an exasperated sigh. "Come on~ Turn that frown upside down," I teased as I reached my hand up and did my best to push his lips upwards. He just huffed before quickly turning his head.

"How you ended up getting me to marry you is beyond me," GST-001 murmured. "Whatever. I'm going to finish what you started. Try not to doze off again," he continued before standing up, turning around and walking away, hands in his pockets. I turned the other way and smirked once more.

Of course you wouldn't remember. It'd be impossible to when our wedding never even existed... Once the sound of his footsteps disappeared, I slowly pushed myself off of the ground, my hand finding its way to the red spot on my face that I had obtained when Kaze had so rudely hit me.

Oh, that's right... Speaking of Kaze... Time to have a little fun.

I took out my phone and opened it before dialing his number and waiting for the chaos to begin.

* * *

><p>"Sherry! What are you doing," I asked, quickly taking note of the two identical people, both with their duel disks activated. Identical, that is, besides the fact that one of them had a red mark on their cheek.<p>

"What are you doing here! I told you guys to stay with Kaze," one of the duo said, who I took to be the real Sherry since she knew what happened.

"But this is perfect! Now she can watch me crush you in the first turn," Noir smiled.

"Don't act so arrogant," Sherry snapped, but Noir smiled wider before she started laughing.

"Oh, you're too funny, you know that! For someone who's about to be crushed, you sure are arrogant yourself," Noir said.

"S-Sherry! Wait, you can't duel-," I started.

"Duel," the two shouted, easily ignoring me as if I wasn't even there.

_[**Sherry:** 4000 LP] [**Noir:** 4000 LP]_

"I'll take the first turn," Sherry said before picking up her card. "I'll then summon Honest in Attack Mode," Sherry continued before placing the card on her duel disk, the angel appearing in a bright light a few seconds after. _[**Attack:** 1100] _"With one card face down, that'll be my turn," Sherry muttered.

"Watch and learn how a true duelist duels. You may learn a thing or two," Noir said. "I'll start off with activating Angel's Charity! I can draw three cards, but in exchange, I have to discard two," Noir said before picking up her cards, discarding Cyber Dragon and Naturia Cliff in exchange. "Then I'll activate Cyclone in order to destroy your face down," Noir continued before Sherry's card shattered to bits. "I'll summon Naturia Spiderfang next! I won't stop there though! I activate Dead Resurrection in order to bring my Naturia Cliff back from the Cemetery," Noir shouted. Out of a portal came a large stone wielding a spear, and after it came a yellow spider with green spots on it. _[**Naturia Cliff: Attack:** 1500] [**Naturia Spiderfang: Attack:** 2100]_"Don't get too used to these guys though! I'll create an Overlay network with these two monsters," Noir continued, causing our eyes to widen.

"The Overlay what," I asked.

"J-Just what kind of summon is this," Sherry asked as the two Naturia monsters become matching brown spheres which went spiraling upward.

"Xyz Summon! He who will right the wrongs of the past, appear before me! Kachi Kochi Dragon," Noir shouted. When the two spheres collided, there was a bright light that caused me to quickly look away, and when I looked back, I saw a monster I had never seen before. It was a large dragon that seemed to be made of crystals and had the same two spheres from before orbiting around it. _[**Kachi Kochi Dragon: Attack:** 2100] [**Xyz Material:** 2]_ "I won't stop there though! I equip Kachi Kochi Dragon with an Equip Spell called Power of Unity! With this card, my monster gains 800 Attack Points for every face up monster on my field. Since there's only Kachi Kochi himself, he gains only 800 Attack," Noir said before her monster grew even bigger than it already was. _[**Attack:** 2900]_ "Kachi Kochi Dragon! Destroy Honest," Noir snapped, in which the crystal dragon happily obliged, slamming its large claw onto the ground and sending a large row of crystals flying at Sherry's monster, easily destroying it. Neither of us were expecting for the crystals to continue on their way and send Sherry flying into the wall.

[**Sherry:** 2200 LP]

"Sherry! Are you alright," I shouted as the crystals slowly faded and Sherry slumped to the ground. Sherry quickly nodded and got to her feet though.

"It'll take more than that to take me down," Sherry said, oblivious to her own stagger back into place. "What happened to one turn only, huh, Noir," Sherry asked.

"I'm not done yet. I was giving you time to get back up," Noir muttered. "When Kachi Kochi Dragon destroys a monster on your field and sends it to the cemetery, I can detach one Xyz Material in order to have it attack again," Noir said as one of the brown spheres disappeared. _[**Xyz Material:** 1]_

"Stop it! You've won! There's no need to go as far as this," I snapped.

"Stay out of this," Sherry said.

"No! Kaze trusted me with the task of keeping you safe! No matter what, I won't let you get hurt," I shouted before quickly moving forward and placing myself between the two duelists. "Can't you be satisfied with this, Noir! You've won! Isn't that enough," I asked.

"No. It's not. I'll give you to the count of three to move, or you both can perish," Noir said.

"Kaze trusted you to protect me... That it," Sherry asked. I nodded, doing my best to keep up my brave front. Regardless, when I heard a beep, I quickly jumped, completely forgetting that both of the duelists probably had their phones.

"Well? Why don't you answer that? I figure it'll be pretty important," Noir smiled. I turned back towards Sherry as a scowl appeared on her face and she grabbed her phone off of her belt. After turning it on speaker, as Kaze had done, she hit the enter button.

"What is it," Sherry asked.

"Sherry... Sherry, help," a voice whispered, causing our eyes to widen.

"Rei! What's wrong," Sherry shouted.

"It's... It's... please... hurry," Rei muttered. Before either of us could say anything, their was a loud scream that not only came from the phone, but also echoed through the halls.

"Rei! Rei! What's going on! Answer me," Sherry shouted into the phone, but no response came after that.

"What did I tell you? Important," Noir said. Sherry simply let go off her phone before running off, ending the duel with me at her heels.

* * *

><p>After putting the cards back in my duel disk, I made my way over to Sherry's still open phone and picked it up as a few coughs came out of it. "I'm not proud of that, I'll have you know, so don't bother saying anything," GST-001 muttered before clearing his throat once more.<p>

"Aw, but what's not to like about that? You can trick whoever you want," I said.

"Those two are coming back, aren't they," GST-001 asked, agitated with me ignoring him.

"Yeah yeah. You cost me ending the two though, so if you get hurt, you only have yourself to blame," I sighed.

"Don't make me question our relationship again," GST-001 grumbled.

"Why don't you just deal with the two on your end real quick before you have four on one going on," I said as walked over to the wall and grabbed the bottom latch, easily lifting the door to the small room open.

"Don't go bossing me around. I'm the man here," my husband protested.

"You wanna bet," I asked, causing him to go silent, realizing the difference in our strengths. The teal haired teen hiding in the room also remained silent, or at least for a while.

"Oh, uh... Hi... Sherry," Rua muttered.

"Just handle those guys however you want, I have something to do," I said before hanging up the phone. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out with James," I muttered.

"Well, I was, but then we decided on playing hide and seek! I tried to find somewhere to hide, but it was just a hall! Or so I thought! I found this little hole and I crawled on in," Rua smiled. I quietly observed the boy before me, trying to figure out how to deal with him.

"In that case, I saw James a little down to the left. You'd be best to head back the way you came if you want to avoid him," I muttered.

"Really! Thanks, Sherry," Rua cheered before crawling out and running off the opposite way the others went.

Hm... Was GST-001 right...? Was I getting soft...? I _have_ been letting these guys off easily lately... No, this is all just so it'll get more fun later on, of course! It'd be no fun to just destroy them all and take what we want! It'll just make our victory even sweeter... But this will be all the handicap they get. Next time I see that boy... I won't hesitate, of course not! But forget him, right now, I had a few pieces of dead meat to catch up with.

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- Believe it or not, when I went to random. org, these are the cards that Noir's deck got for the first 6 (Technically 9...?) o-o' I decided to keep it to give Noir a little chance to shine with her magical deck of magicalness... (Noir's deck is one of Sherry's decks from Tag Force 6)

- Speaking of decks, the title, since I failed at thinking of one, came from the names of Sherry's deck. According to Wikipedia, the most awesome place in the whole world, Sherry's decks are named Sword of _ with something in the blank. So, I chose Sherry's Tag Force 5 Deck 'Sword of Justice' and Sherry's Tag Force 6 Deck 'Sword of Doom', which is where the title came from. And since Tag Force 6 has Xyz monsters in it, and Noir is from the future, and Xyz monsters are from Zexal (the future, I take it) why not throw in confusion of Sherry and Ruka with futuristic summons... Oh yes, I'm that much of a jerk xD

English Name - Japanese Name  
>Graceful Charity - Angel's Charity<br>Mystical Space Typhoon - Cyclone  
>Monster Reborn - Dead Resurrection<br>Graveyard - Cemetery  
>United We Stand - Power of Unity<p>

* * *

><p><em>Reviews:<em>

GodzillaG:Going along with that, I was actually going to have it where Kaze thought that Sherry's punching help him get over difficult times, like when he was having magical throat problems of doom, and when he was stuck in a duel, he'd call her over and tell her to beat him up. The result would clearly not be what he expected though xD I decided to ditch the idea though, so oh well.

2dayIsUrDay: Well thanks :D Well, to be _quite _honest, all that happened was that Noir had some fun by beating him up senseless while he was unconscious and anything else she felt like doing... Her original intent was to kill him, which explains his rugged condition, but in the end, as we somewhat see in this chapter, she finds herself unable to kill like she used to. As for why, you can probably assume that for Kaze, she still feels attachment, against their original plans, so she left him alive, but still wounded. For Rua, since I probably won't do Noir's point of view again, if not, very much again, I'll just blatantly tell you that human emotions kicked in. Since Rua is just a kid, Noir finds herself unable to even harm him, against what she wants to believe.

The Wild Fang: Awesome thinking/instincts then xD Unfortunately, they end up forgetting him, because they think Rei died or something, but we have a small change of heart, so he's still safe, so yaaay (Rua is also one of my favorite characters, so I think that makes me bias on not wanting to kill him xD)


	18. Train of Thinking

"Hey guys! You're just in time to help me cheer," Rei called out, but we were too stunned to even reply.

"What's with you guys? You look like you've seen a ghost," Kaze muttered.

"You know, technically they are," GST-001 noted, thinking that Kaze was talking about a Ghost like himself.

"B-But you...! And the scream! And the... And the," I struggled, still trying to comprehend why not only Rei seemed to fine, but why neither of them were reacting at GST-001 presence... They actually seemed... Kind of calm, considering who he was.

"That was just to get you guys here in time to watch me crush your little friend," GST-001 said.

"Which is why I need your guys help! If the three of us get together and do some cheers that I learned from a year ago, then there's no doubt that Kaze will win," Rei said.

"If you cheer anymore, then I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep myself from laughing at you anymore," GST-001 said.

"Hey! You're just jealous that you don't have your own personal cheerleader! That cheer was the best cheer ever," Rei protested. "It's better with a group though! So Sherry, Ruka, c'mon, you just gotta-," Rei started.

"H-hold up! Enough cheering! We've got things to do! Like we have to find Noir and-," Kaze started.

"Ah, let them do what they want. I want to end this little trifle with a duel, and we're just wasting time," GST-001 said.

"Kaze, they have these monsters called Xyz monsters! They deal real damage and have effects that are powerful. In truth, Noir defeated me within the first turn of our duel with it," Sherry muttered, reluctantly acknowledging her defeat.

"But, of course, that won't stop you, will it," GST-001 asked.

"Obviously. Besides, if I don't, you'll go after my friends, won't you," Kaze asked, in which GST-001 just smiled before nodding.

"Regardless! You're wounded-," Sherry started.

"I was wounded against Zone, wasn't I? I managed just fine," Kaze said.

"You're just trying to act tough because you don't think that we can protect ourselves! That's it, isn't it," Rei asked. "Well, no need to worry about us! We'll take him on three to one and he won't even know what hit him," Rei cheered before she started boxing with the air. Surprisingly, no one said anything for a few minutes after that, and even GST-001 sat there silently.

"Uhm... Rei," I asked, causing Rei to slowly stop her boxing.

"Yeah? What is it? You want me to teach you, don't you! Well, you see, I can teach you whatever you want once-," Rei started but suddenly stopped as she turned around and glared at GST-001, who was laughing at her recent outbursts. "What's so funny," Rei demanded.

"Ah, I was just thinking about how much Kaze has a weird bunch of friends" GST-001 chuckled.

"We aren't weird, but even if we were, I'd be happy to say that he at least has friends," Rei protested.

"But you don't need friends when you have a wife as great as I am," Noir's voice said, causing Sherry and I to turn as she approached us.

"Sure have yourself in high regards, don't you," Sherry muttered.

"What are you doing here," GST-001 asked.

"I finished things up and I got bored, sue me," Noir sighed.

"But it's perfect, in a way. Now that everyone is here, we can settle this thing once and for all," GST-001 said.

"You're challenging us to a two on four match," I asked.

"They're walking on thin ice if they are," Rei giggled.

"The little boys are going to settle their little trifle in the corner while us big girls handle our problem," Noir smiled. "Isn't that right? Acelin? Kazy?"

"Excuse me, but just who are you talking to," GST-001 asked.

"I think that's you, big guy," Rei said.

"What do you mean me," GST-001 snapped.

"I think the name is perfect for you! Besides, I'm sick of having to call you 'GST-001'," Noir sighed.

"But that's no reason to-," GST-001 started.

"It's French for 'Little nobel one'," Sherry said.

"L-little," GST-001 asked, clearly offended as Rei and I couldn't even help but start giggling. "F-Forget it! I'm sick of these games! Come on, Kokoro! Let's settle this," GST-001 shouted before dragging Kaze away.

"H-Hey-," I started.

"Ah, forget the boys. You can go after them after our duel... That is, if you're still alive," Noir smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean," Rei asked.

"She's got a monster that deals real damage. I think it's summoned by-," I started, but Rei held her hand up.

"Hey! Don't ruin it! There's no fun in the duel if you tell me about her ace entirely," Rei said.

"You aren't scared by that fact," Noir asked.

"Of course I am! I can't back down though! Kaze is going to beat GST-001, hands down, and if we can't beat you three to one, than how could we ever hope to stand by Kaze's side," Rei asked as she activated her duel disk.

"You don't hope at all, that's how," Noir said before the rest of us activated our duel disks.

"Duel!"

_[**Noir:** 4000 LP] [**Sherry:** 4000 LP] [**Ruka:** 4000 LP] [**Rei:** 4000 LP]_

"Since I'm all alone over here, I'll take the first turn," Noir said as she picked up her card. "I'll start off with summoning Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei in attack," Noir continued as the taller man appeared before her, covered in scars. _[**Attack:** 2300]_ "Let's see how you can manage with that," Noir smiled, in which Sherry twitched before drawing her card.

"I summon Sacred Knight Jeanne," Sherry shouted. There was a flash of light and as the light faded away, a heavily armored woman appeared on her field. _[**Attack:** 1900] _"With one card face down, that will be my turn," Sherry said.

"My turn then," I muttered, already doing my best to think of how to keep up with Sherry and Rei's decks. "I'll set three cards face down, and then I'll summon Armored White Bear in Defense Mode," I said. As the armored polar bear appeared before me, I couldn't help but remember our duel against Aporia. _[**Defense:** 1400]_ It was three on two, and we barley managed to scrape by... But this was different...! Our dueling styles were more similar, and there was one less person on our opponents team, so... We wouldn't... We couldn't...

"Ruka...? Are you alright," Rei asked, pulling me out of my thoughts, which is when I noticed my hands were shaking.

"Y-yeah... That's my turn," I muttered. Seeing as Rei was about to question my condition once more, I simply smiled as best I could for being in the situation we were in and she hesitantly nodded before taking her draw.

"I'll start my turn off with summoning Lightlord Paladin Jean! I'll then equip him with Lightlord Rapier, giving him an extra 700 Attack," Rei shouted. Once the warrior appeared from his flash of light, his sword was exchanged for a rapier, which he swung around a few times before going back to rest. _[**Attack:** 1800 - 2500]_"I'll set one card down, and then you can go," Rei said.

"For my turn, all I'll do is change Lei Lei to defense and summon Naturia Spiderfang in defense as well," Noir said before the yellow spider from before appeared. _[**Naturia Spiderfang: Defense:** 400] [**Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei: Defense:** 0]_

"Are you trying to mock us or something? You could have used a Xyz summon, couldn't you," Sherry demanded.

"Oh, but I'm _oh_ so scared of Rei's Lightlord...! It must have slipped my mind," Noir giggled.

"You are toying with us, aren't you," Rei asked.

"Just take your move. I'd hate to waste more time than I have to," Noir snapped.

"Fine! If you're in such a hurry, I'll end this duel now," Sherry said as she took her draw. "I equip Jeanne with Bigbang Shoot! Not only does it give her an extra 400 attack, but it allows her to deal Piercing Damage," Sherry continued. _[**Attack:** 2300] _"Jeanne! Attack Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei," Sherry shouted.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but that won't end me," Noir said.

"That's why I'm activating Honest's effect from my hand! If one of my Light monsters is battling, during the Damage Phase, I can discard this card to give it a boost in attack equal to your monster's attack," Sherry said. _[**Attack:** 4600]_

"And even with the 300 lost when attacking, you'll still deal over 4000," Noir muttered. _[**Attack:** 4300]_

"Alright! Way to go Sherry! We can do it without even a scratch," Rei cheered as Sherry's monster charged forward, easily slicing through Noir's defenseless monster.

_[**Noir:** 0 LP]_

"Bravo. Nice job," Noir smiled.

"Don't mock me! You could have Xyz summoned and taken at least one of us out, couldn't you? You went easy on us didn't you," Sherry snapped, in which Noir just shrugged.

"R... Ruka...! Sherry," Rei muttered as she pulled at out sleeves, causing us to turn.

"What is it," I asked, noticing that Rei wasn't even looking at us.

"Gemknight Pearl! Destroy his monster and get rid of all of his life point," GST-001 shouted.

By the time that the words actually processed in my mind and I remembered the duel, it was already too late, as the monster, which I took to be a Xyz one, held its hand up and a ball of light appeared in it. To be honest, I don't think that _any_ of us processed it when the ball was thrown and easily pierced through Kaze's Brionac and eventually went straight through his chest.

[**Kaze:** 0 LP]

For the next few seconds, nothing even happened but the cards and monsters disappearing, but as soon as Kaze fell to the ground, everything started breaking apart.

"You... You," Rei trailed off in a whisper. "_You!_"

I feebly latched onto Rei's wrist, doing my best to pull her back.

"Rei...! This... This is what they want! We have to stay calm and-," I started.

"You can sit here and be passive or whatever you want, but there's no telling me to just sit here and let him get away with hurting Kaze! You can't tell me you don't want to make him pay," Rei snapped.

The two... Kaze and GST-001 must have traded places or something. There was no way that Kaze could have just lost to GST-001... He beat Zone after all, and Zone made GST-001, so he should have been able to easily win...! But... Even skill doesn't last forever... Kaze... Kaze did lose, but... There's no way he lost badly enough that he would get a wound that would kill him! After all, the ball phased through, and didn't leave any physical damage, so it must have been just like a duel. The pain must have been too much though, so maybe he just went unconscious...? Of course, that had to be it! So... I had to be strong... I had to convince Rei and Sherry to not go after Noir and GST-001, because if they get hurt...

"It has to be some sort of trap or-," I started once more.

"Oh, I'll willing walk into that trap if it means ending him and Noir," Sherry said, quickly advancing towards GST-001, only stopping when Noir got in her way. "Get out of my way or else," Sherry snapped.

"No," Noir smiled, causing Sherry to start to form a fist with her hand.

"I thought you said we share the came feelings! You should understand that you should move then," Sherry hissed.

"Calm down, will you? I haven't kill the kid yet," GST-001 sighed. Rei quickly ripped her arm out of my grip.

"Come on guys...! We have to be reasonable and think straight! Can't you trust that Kaze is alright? I'm sure he'll manage! We have to stop Noir and GST-001 first," I insisted.

"We will stop them, we just won't be nice and-," Rei started.

"Oh no! My dear," Noir cried out before running off towards GST-001, leaving us stunned.

"H-hey! I'm debating on how I'm-," Rei started once more.

"Oh how could they! Kaze, you beast! How could you do such a thing to him," Noir shouted, leaving us even more confused.

"Y-you guys were the ones who-," I started, but the duo seemed happy with not letting us get our words in.

"It's simple. With him just standing there, how could I not want to," GST-001 smirked. Just as I was about to protest once more, I noticed a black haired teen staring in our direction.

"You... You guys," James trailed off.

"N-no! It's not what it looks like," I shouted.

"Save it! I thought I could trust you guys, but you went around and attacked my father! Kaze! Duel me, right now," James demanded.

"No, James! You can't duel him! I couldn't bare to lose you too," Noir insisted as she picked Kaze up and cradled him in her arms, probably for a more dramatic look.

"I'll be fine! I promise! You watch after Father," James said.

"James, that isn't-," I tried once more, but James ignored me and the duel started.

"Oh, that was all good acting, don't you think," Noir asked as she set Kaze back down.

"Why would you want your own son to get hurt," I shouted.

"She doesn't care about James because I doubt that he's even their kid," Sherry said before walking off to check on Kaze.

"What's that supposed to mean? He clearly thinks your his mother. A kid like him wouldn't call you 'Mom' if you weren't his mother," Rei said.

"I don't have to tell you guys anything," Noir said. That's when I remembered the playing card that was in my pocket.

"Hey, Rei... From back a while ago... How did you know who was GST-001 and who was Kaze," I asked.

"W-what? Why do you want to know now," Rei asked.

"Oh, I like your train of thinking. I didn't think you'd pull that offer back out," Noir giggled. "You see, I promised Ruka if she found out the answer to that question for me, then I would answer one of her questions," Noir explained.

"Well, if that's that case, then to be quite honest, it was just a gut feeling, you know," Rei said, although it sounded more like she was asking.

"A gut feeling...? You could have wandered off with the enemy," Noir noted.

"I also though that it was weird that Kaze would have my card when the imposter him would be the only one who could have it, so I went on that too. Besides, Kaze wouldn't be bold like that, telling off someone else that he was the real one," Rei said.

"So you had no valid proof besides a gut feeling...? Interesting," Noir muttered before turning around and checking on the duel.

"Hey, Ruka! What are you going to ask her about," Rei asked.

"Uh... I... I don't really know... There's so much I want to know, and yet," I trailed off.

"Noir. Your past. Tell us your past," Sherry said.

"Well, that's not a question, Sherry," Rei muttered.

"'What's your past'," I asked.

"Either way, I guess it'll work. I'm a woman of my word. I don't think duel will be going anywhere for a while anyway," Noir said. "But Sherry, how's Kazy faring," Noir asked.

"That's none of your business. Now hurry up and explain yourself so our questions will be answered," Sherry said.

"Ouch, someone's feisty," Noir teased, but when none of us gave any reaction back, she sighed. "You guys are no fun... Fine, we can get straight to the boring facts..."

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>  
><em>  
>- Since I didn't update earlier, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year's to everyone. Unfortunately for me, for Christmas, I got a computer crash, and all of my files got deleted. The story was stored on a USB card though, so since all of my other files got deleted, I was trying to restore them, which explains the lack of updates for a while.<p>

- Apparently when I said that I wouldn't be doing another Noir's point of view, I didn't count on the back story part, so next chapter will be the last anyone else's PoV, as things are finally settling, if you'd call it that, and there's no more need for it after this_._

Card Names:

English - Japanese  
>Sacred Knight Joan - Sacred Knight Jeanne<br>Jain, Lightsworn Paladin - Lightlord Paladin Jean  
>Lightsworn Sabre - Lightlord Rapier<br>Big Bang Shot - Bigbang Shoot_  
><em>

* * *

><p><span>Reviews:<span>

The Wild Fang:Well, there's no proof that Xyz monster wouldn't have existed if the future was still destroyed... People might just might not wanted to have use them for the most part...? Or something else, I guess... And I don't think Noir can join the fan club because Sherry and Rei would kick her out... Probably most literally xD

2dayIsUrDay: Well, you kind of get to... The whole point of making the girls distracted for a short while was that GST-001/Noir wanted them to snap and rush blindly into a duel, as James does, but getting the girls to do it ultimately failed because Ruka manages to convince them to stay back, in a way.


	19. Growing Up

The first thing that truly registered with my mind when I awoke was simply three words. "Are you alright?" Nothing around me even processed, as my vision was already slipping once more and the room was seemingly pitch black. The second thing that registered was a sharp pain in my head. "Are you alright," the voice repeated.

"Do I look like I'm alright," I grumbled as I clutched my head with one hand, hoping that it would stop the pulsing. It was then that my vision started clearing and I saw a brown haired teen before me. Our eyes met and we remained silent for a few seconds, after which I slowly removed my hand to get a better look through the dark. "I mean, of course I am! Who are you," I asked happily.

"I'm... I don't quite have a name, but Master Zone calls me GST-001," the teen said.

"He's treating you like you're some experiment or something," I sighed.

"I am," he replied, startling me. "Now come on. Master Zone said to show you to him when you awoke," GST-001 said before he started walking away. After seeing I wasn't making any movement to follow, he stopped and turned around. "Are you coming or not? Would you prefer to be alone with Aporia or someone while I report," GST-001 asked. Of course, at that I quickly jumped to my feet and walked to his side, instantly forgetting what pain I had. I boldly wrapped one of my arms around one of his, but he either didn't mind or didn't feel like protesting against it.

"Hey, are there any other girls here," I asked.

"Now that you mention it, I believe all of the girls are now dead besides you," GST-001 muttered. His eyes widened when he saw me smile. "I-is that amusing to you," he asked.

"Oh, no, it's nothing. Let's get going," I said, leaving him even more confused. Regardless, he took the lead in leading me off to wherever this Zone guy was. He started talking about something, but I didn't even pay attention. All I was thinking about was how to win him over. With no other girls alive, I can't help but say it'll be all too easy to win over my destined partner. I knew it when our eyes met that we were destined to be, regardless of how unclear his eyes came out to me. The way he took care of me was just another reason I knew we were destined. He could have left me all alone, but instead, he chose to stay... I think this might be even easier than I thought.

* * *

><p>"Hey, GST-001," I asked as I peered into his room. Just as I was about to repeat myself, as he was either ignoring me or was deep in thought, he suddenly stood up.<p>

"I don't know what you're doing here, but excuse me. I'm going to go do something," GST-001 muttered before walking past me, not giving me a chance to say anything.

"Jeez! The nerve of these guys," I sighed before taking the liberty of taking my first steps into GST-001's room. "How come the guys get bigger rooms than I do," I asked, not caring if anyone could hear me. With complaints aside, I started snooping around GST-001's room, hoping to find something that would assist me in my attempt to court him.

As a note, he should be the one courting me, but oh well...

The first object I found was a picture that was sitting next to where GST-001 just was. After taking in the faces of the four people, I couldn't help but make a connection. That was that the only boy in the picture looked just like GST-001. If it was in his room, I have a pretty good feeling that this was him, but before... Before the...

Anyway, surrounding him was three girls. "So you actually had female friends," I mused, putting my morbid thoughts behind me.

"What's that supposed to mean," a voice asked, causing me to jump as I dropped the picture. "What are you doing in my room, while we're at questions," GST-001 continued, clearly agitated with my uninvited entry during his short departure.

"I, uh... came in here because I accidentally dropped something, and it rolled in here! That's when I saw this picture! I feel like I know one of the girls though, so I was trying to figure it out," I lied. He just stood there for a few seconds, as if staring straight through me for the truth. He eventually shrugged though and walked over to me.

"I probably won't be too much help. I actually found this picture on one of my walks," GST-001 muttered. "After doing a little research, I found out their names though, and a little about them. They're Kaze Kokoro, Ruka, Sherry LeBlanc, and Rei Saotome," GST-001 said before swiping up the picture, staring at it for a few seconds. "You know, believe it or not... I would have liked to meet them... I mean, look at them. They look like they're having... What's the word," GST-001 asked.

"Fun?"

"Yeah... I think that's it. They look like they're having fun in a time where the world was going to spiral into ruin," GST-001 said. "So it'd be nice to meet them, you know? It'd be like a little experiment," GST-001 continued before making his way towards the door, but suddenly paused. "And you know... I really would have liked to have met her," GST-001 muttered before walking off entirely. 'Her'...? 'Her' who? It must have been one of the girls in the picture, but which one...? I sighed before walking over to his mirror, staring at my reflection for a few minutes.

After all this time we've spent together, he feels more attachment to one of those three more than me? Why couldn't he be like a normal man and go for looks? I'd easily beat out at least two of them... But the other...? We shared quite a few traits, both having the same tint of blond hair and green eyes, as far as I could tell, as it wasn't a close up picture. Could, just possibly, that be a connection...? Some sort of link to my forgotten past? Or better yet... Could I be her, and could I be the one that GST-001 wanted to meet most of all? It would only make sense... To find someone who shared the same traits was highly unlikely... I had to be that blond from the picture! Conjuring up what I could remember from the brief time I had seen the picture, I quickly made my way to my room, where I could find all I needed to alter my hair to the style that was in that of the picture. Once I had finished that, I would simply have to find some books to do the same research GST-001 did in order to find out about my past. Once I did... Once I regained my memories... He would have no choice but to fall for the one he wanted to meet!

* * *

><p>"What do you want," GST-001 asked, not even bothering to look up from the papers in front of him.<p>

"I can't say good morning to a certain grump," I teased.

"Fine. You've said good morning, so would you mind leaving me alone," GST-001 asked. After noticing that I wasn't moving, he sighed before looking up. "Very funny. Now, would you please leave? I'd prefer to write in peace," GST-001 said.

"I thought you said you wanted to meet me most out of all of those girls," I said.

"I see you every day, Noir. There's no need to wish to see you once more than I already do see you," GST-001 muttered.

"That's just it though! I've regained my memories from the past! I found out who I am and I did research on myself! My true self is none other than Sherry LeBlanc," I smiled, expecting some dramatic reaction out of him, but he just sat there with his poker face.

"You expect me to believe that, honestly," GST-001 asked.

"It's the truth! What proof do you need from me to make you believe it," I asked.

"If you really were Sherry, then you'd be able to tell me what happened to the others. For example, what happened to Ruka," GST-001 said.

"Why do you want to know that! What does it matter what happened to her! I'm right here, and that should be all you need," I snapped.

"If you must know, when you overheard me yesterday, I wasn't referring to you, or you and your imaginary persona of Sherry. I was talking about that Ruka girl," GST-001 said.

"What's so interesting about her that you'd prefer seeing her over me," I shouted, getting agitated with GST-001 for the first time since we had met.

"A Signer, a child prodigy, and a child who has the ability to go to the Duel Spirit World. The achievements of this child, especially at her age, are quite amazing. Not only that, but the personality, as far as records go... I've never met a person like her, so that's who I wish to meet," GST-001 said before going back to work on his papers.

He... He would rather meet some girl who could duel good and talk to imaginary friends...?

"You've got to be joking me! How you can favor a stranger over me, who you know much more about and is alive? When you straighten your thinking out, how about you just let me know," I vented before storming off, making sure to make as much noise as possible in my departure in order to disturb his so called precious writing time.

Is the reason why he can avoid everyone of my attempts to win him over simply one girl? Could he possibly even... Of course he couldn't... Not... he couldn't like someone he never met, could he...?

I took a deep breath before turning around, seeing him still watching me from a distance away. "_You idiot!_"

* * *

><p>"I trust that the two of you will handle things here until we alter the past, correct," Zone asked.<p>

"Of course! Nothing will go wrong," I smiled.

"Yeah... We'll do our best," GST-001 muttered, clearly upset with something, as he was glaring at Zone as he said it.

"Now, GST-001... You know that if we took you along in this travel, then your programing could become undone and-," Zone started.

"I got it! Three times later and I think I got it," GST-001 snapped, leaving Zone startled, and I would have been as well if I hadn't been thinking about something else. What Zone had said. Undoing programing. Could that be my key out of this problem? Could it get rid of my worry about this brat from the past?

"GST-001," Zone muttered, but he paused, as if thinking over his words carefully. Even after stewing over his choices for a few seconds, all he gave was a small shake of his head before turning and leaving for the past through the portal.

"Who does he think he is...! Treating me like a child," GST-001 growled.

"You are a child though, given the time you were created and all that," I said, making my first attempt at a conversation with him for quite some time. He brushed my comment off before grumbling some things to himself as he paced around. I took this chance of him being distracted and walked over to the machine that controlled the time portal, or whatever it was that Zone called it. Figuring how it worked wasn't too much of a task, as there were words and numbers by their corresponding parts.

"Noir...? Do you know what you're doing," GST-001 asked, probably noticing the fluctuation of the portal as I changed our destination time to a few years before Zone's. To watch that old man's demise would be it's own prize... "Noir," GST-001 repeated.

"I know what I'm doing, calm down," I sighed before finishing up the settings.

"Then why is the portal still here," GST-001 asked as I walked over to him. I already felt the smile appear on my face as I grabbed one of his hands.

"That's because we're going through too, _dear_," I said, causing his eyes to widen. He quickly tried to pull his hand back, but I had already gone forward, pulling him with me as we tumbled for the past, leaving a certain picture of a certain vexatious brat long since crumpled and torn.

* * *

><p>"Hey! That doesn't tell us anything about James," Rei said, causing Noir to twitch, as she was interrupted in mid sentence. I would have informed Rei of this fact if I wasn't processing some facts of my own. GST-001... He had been interested in <em>me<em>, of all people. This led Noir into believing he liked me, or even more confusing, _loved _me. By sending him to the past for revenge and to clear his memory, she figured that all of her problems would be solved. Then Noir's identity was really... Sherry was clearly pondering over this fact as well, and I couldn't blame her, as this fact had the most to deal with her.

"Oh, I get it," Sherry muttered. "You're just some deranged woman who was unable to get with the one who she loved. This made you delude yourself that you were me, hoping that it would make him like you. This ultimately failed though, as his interests were aligned elsewhere," Sherry said.

"I dare you to say that-," Noir started.

"So you mean... Noir's just like us... in a way," I muttered, startling both Sherry and Noir.

"Just without, you know, the whole crazy thing, attacking people, and thinking we're someone else," Rei said, apparently having the same idea, for the most part.

"How do you get that she's anything like us," Sherry asked.

"Well... She... She just wants to be with the one she likes. He showed interest in someone else though, and it really hurt her," I explained.

"_Like..._ If I told you that Kaze and I went on a date while we were at Duel Academy, you'd be upset, wouldn't you? It's as simple as that," Rei said.

"No matter what connections you try to make with me, it won't change things. Acelin and I... We'll take you down, and then we'll finish Kazy off once and for all right before your eyes! Will you see the connection still then," Noir asked, her voice on edge.

"You can't expect me to believe you yourself are going to hurt him when you're still calling him such pet names," Sherry said.

"Speaking of hurting," a voice said. I looked over just as a card was expertly thrown past me, narrowly missing my face. "It's time for the true final duel, isn't it? All of the nuisances are gone," GST-001 said.

"So it's the two of us against you-," Rei started, probably being the one who received the card, but at the moment, that didn't pass through my mind.

"What did you do to James," I shouted, not listening to the logical answer that my head gave me. Kaze was older than James, and I had enough faith that he would be able to hold on since he had been able to every other time, and Sherry not attacking Noir was a sign that he would be alright. James though, was younger than Kaze, and he might... He actually might...

"Have a look for yourself," GST-001 said as he took a step to the side, revealing James collapsed on the ground, sparks flying out of the device on his arm. Before I knew it, I found myself running over to his side.

"James! Are you alright," I asked as I knelt down next to him, making sure to keep as much distance as I needed to stay out of the area of the sparks.

"I'm sorry... You were right... That... That was Father... Father hurt Kaze, and then... He came after me," James muttered. "But I guess this is how it should be... I failed Father... I failed Mother... I couldn't bring myself to hurt Rua," James continued.

"GST-001 isn't your father! Noir isn't your mother either! They can't be! Besides, you didn't fail them! You did what was right, and that's nothing to be ashamed of," I said, causing James to smile weakly.

"Is... Is that so...? Ha... To think... Some girl I had planed on destroying in this tournament... Here she is, talking to me as I pass," James chuckled, but quickly winced in pain.

"Don't talk if it causes-," I started.

"You know... I'm glad that this GST-001 made me be in this tournament... I thought you were special when I met you... The more we talked, the more I knew this was true... You eventually opened me up and everything," James said. He paused, taking in a pained breath before continuing. "Ruka... Thanks for that... And for being my first friend... You were so nice to me... Even when I tried to push you away... So... Thank you." He weakly reached his hand over to reach mine, but as it started falling, I quickly clutched it in both of my own hands.

"James! James," I insisted, desperately hoping that what I thought was happening wasn't true. Of course, it was though, as James' eyes slowly closed as the static stopped.

"There's no need to get emotional over it. He was created during the time travel. He branched off of Acelin. His interest came from Acelin's initial interest in you," Noir said, confusing GST-001, as he clearly didn't have any memory of that.

"How can you say that! He was a living being! You're treating him like he was something insignificant! How could you take away his life like it was nothing," I shouted as I stood back up.

"Because it wasn't his life to begin with. Without me and Acelin, he never would have existed. I have all the right to take his life away," Noir said.

"Regardless of Noir and her crazy rants, it's time to finally end this," GST-001 said.

"You hurt Kaze... You killed James... You tried to hurt Rua... I defiantly can't forgive you," I shouted. GST-001 just smirked before laughing, probably enjoying the fact that tears were flowing from my eyes.

"There's nothing funny about this! You got innocent people involved and you've been playing dirty," Rei snapped.

"Alls fair in love and war. You girls just aren't made for either, I'm afraid," GST-001 said.

"Sherry! You go and make sure that Kaze is still alright and do what you can to make sure he stays safe. Rei and I will handle this," I said, causing Sherry's eyes to widen.

"Jeez! Who are you and what have you done with Ruka," Rei teased.

"You've grown up a lot during this event, haven't you," Sherry asked, smiling slightly before walking off towards Kaze, who hopefully wasn't falling into the same state as James. I brushed the thought out of my mind, as I couldn't have my head clouded with negative thoughts like that with the stakes that were riding on this duel. I didn't have Kaze standing by to make up for things if I messed up. I was protecting him, for once. I had to make up for all that he's done for me by winning this. Rei shot me a glance and I nodded.

_"Duel!"  
><em>

* * *

><p><span>Notes:<span>

-All I have for notes is that I'm going to do a quick over view of Noir's story in case any part was confusing: Noir woke up with amnesia, not being able to remember her past. Awaiting her awakening is GST-001, who Noir quickly decides is destined to be her man. The two get to know each other a little more as the days past and Noir goes to visit GST-001, only to find him deep in thought. He leaves before she can talk, so she snoops around his room, finding a picture. GST-001 returns and confronts her on why she's there. She convinces him to tell her who the people are, and he explains that they're Kaze, Ruka, Sherry, and Rei. Due to the fact that they're in the future, a picture from the past ended up on the ground there. GST-001 discovered the picture on the walk and expresses interest in one of the girls, but does not specify which. Noir convinces herself that she's Sherry due to the similarities, quickly changing her look to match Sherry's. When she sees GST-001, he pays no minds of her new appearance and asks of Ruka. Noir takes this as he likes her and gets angry, storming off. When Zone and Co. leave for the past, he intrusts Noir and GST-001 with the safety of the future while they're gone. He informs Noir indirectly about the effects of Ghosts during time travel before leaving. Noir, a new idea in mind, changes the destination time for herself and GST-001 before taking him through with her, knowing he'd experience memory loss and/or worse. When they arrived in the past, Noir found that GST-001 was split into two personas though, GST-001, and a boy, who would later be called James. She took advantage of both of the boys' amnesia and gives them the memories that she wants them to have.

* * *

><p><span>Reviews:<span>

- The Wild Fang:This is just the first time that Kaze has lost with the bold style though xD Jealousy Chapter 10 and Jealousy Chapter 17 are the other loses we see, I guess. Kaze could have lost plenty of other times, but Ruka just doesn't stalk him and see them. The awkward cheer moment was originally going to be included and Sherry and Ruka see it, but then when it came to thinking of the cheer, I couldn't think of anything that would work...

- 2dayIsUrDay: Another thing that I was originally going to have was Ruka freaking out over the injury, but then when I got thinking about it, this would be the second (Possibly four if you count the injuries from Jealousy Chapters 2 and 7), so after crying about it several times and seeing he's alright every time, she, at this point, as enough trust with Kaze that he'll be alright no matter what, since he's survived all of the other things. She kind of states this. She also knows that they're in enemy territory, so to say, so she struggles to keep a level head since both Rei and Sherry kind of lose it.


	20. Ruka's One Wish

_[**Noir and GST-001:** 8000] [**Ruka and Rei:** 8000]_

"I'll start things off," Noir said, taking her draw and then pausing, scanning her cards. "I'll set one monster face down, followed by one card face down. That will be all," Noir finished.

"My move then," Rei muttered. "I'll summon Lightlord Paladin Jean in attack," Rei said before the white haired warrior appeared. _[**Attack:** 1800]_ "Then I'll attack your face down! Jean's effect activates when he attacks, giving him another 300 attack._ [**Attack:** 2100] [**Shien's Foot soldier: Defense:** 300]_

"When Shien's Foot soldier is destroyed and sent to the Cemetery, I can Special Summon one level 3 or lower Six Samurai from my deck! I'll chose Hand of the Six Samurai, and it'll go in Attack Mode," Noir said. _[**Lightlord Paladin Jean: Attack:** 1800]_ The small armored monkey's shattered image slowly gathered back together, but this time, it was a cloaked woman with a cane. _[**Attack:** 1600]_

"That will be all," Rei said. "Jain's effect activates though, so I have to send the top two cards from my deck to the Cemetery," Rei continued before sending the cards to the upper compartment of her duel disk.

"For my first move, I'll summon Elemental Hero Another Neos," GST-001 said. _[**Attack:** 1900]_ He paused, seeing Rei clench her hands. "What? Does this card bring back memories of your old friends," GST-001 asked.

"You could say that... Judai uses Elemental Heroes... These new decks wouldn't be just a coincidence, would they," Rei asked.

"We're just giving you a break. It'd be unfair to take you down with cards that don't exist in your time," Noir said.

"But you took down Kaze and almost Sherry with those cards," Rei snapped.

"Save the emotional nonsense. Another Neos, attack Jean," GST-001 said. His monster easily plunged its fist into our monster, turning it to shattered bits.  
><em><br>[**Rei and Ruka:** 7900]_

"Hand of the Six Samurai, attack them directly," GST-001 continued. Rei quickly braced herself as the woman charged forward, but the attack simply phased through her like a normal duel.  
><em><br>[**Rei and Ruka:** 6300]_

"So we don't need to worry about physical damage," Rei asked softly.

"Then I'll activate Proclamation of the Royal Palace. It negates the effect of all traps besides itself. Then I'll set one card face down, and that will be all," GST-001 said.

"My turn," I said as I picked up my draw. "I'll set one monster face down. Then I'll activate Dimensional Fissure, which will remove from play monsters that are destroyed instead of sending them to the Cemetery! Then I'll equip Another Neos with Epidemic Virus Black Dust so that it can't attack and is destroyed on your second End Phase! I'll finish my turn with two face downs," I shouted.

"My my, someone is feeling pretty confident, huh," Noir asked. "I'll start my turn off with activating Alliance Army. With this card, my warriors gain 200 attack for every Warrior and Spell Caster on my field. Since I have two Warriors, both gain 400," Noir said._ [**Hand of the Six Samurai: Attack:** 2000] [**Elemental Hero Another Neos: Attack:** 2300]_ "Then I'll activate The Warrior Returning Alive to return Shien's Foot soldier to my hand. Then I'll summon The Six Samurai - Yaichi. With him summoned, my Warrior count goes to three," Noir said as the archer appeared on her field. _[**Hand of the Six Samurai: Attack:** 2200] [**Elemental Hero Another Neos: Attack:** 2500] [**The Six Samurai - Yaichi: Attack:** 1900]_ "With Yaichi's effect, when there's another monster with 'Six Samurai' in its name, it can destroy a face down spell or trap. I chose the one on the far left," Noir shouted. The archer drew its bow, promptly shooting the arrow through Holy Elf's Blessing. "That's not all though. I equip Hand of the Six Samurai with Power of Unity, giving it an extra 800 for every monster on my field," Noir said. _[**Attack:** 4600]_"Hands of the Six Samurai! Destroy their face down monster," Noir shouted. The woman pulled the top part of her staff off, revealing a sword which she used to slice through the face down White Magician Pikeru. "That will be all for me then, as Yaichi can't attack if I use his effect," Noir said.

"I set one card face down to start off. Then I activate Dead Resurrection to bring back Lightlord Magician Leila," Rei said. After she put the card on her duel disk, the black haired woman appeared, wielding a staff. _[**Attack:** 1700]_"I'll use Leila's effect though! I can switch her to defense in order to destroy one spell or trap! I chose Proclamation of the Royal Palace," Rei continued. The black haired woman waved her staff and a bright light erupted out of, promptly destroying the trap. _[**Defense:** 200]_ "I'll finish my turn with a face down and a face down monster," Rei said.

"Leila causes you to lose another pair of cards to the Cemetery, doesn't it? Slowly leading yourself to your doom," Noir said.

"Leila requires three cards though, but you seem to get the idea," Rei muttered and placed the cards in her Cemetery as GST-001 drew his card.

"I'll use Yaichi's effect to destroy the card on the far left once more," GST-001 said, the archer now destroying Hurricane. "Then I'll summon Elemental Hero Voltech," GST-001 muttered, apparently thinking his strategy over carefully. _[**Attack:** 1000]_ "I'll use Defense Seal. With this card, I can change a monster that's on your field to Attack Mode. I chose Leila," GST-001 said. [_**Attack:** 1700]_ "Elemental Hero Voltech! Destroy their face down-," GST-001 started.

"Not so fast! I activate Reactive Armor! It destroys your attacking monster," Rei shouted, causing GST-001 to sigh as his monster disappear.

"Fine. Waste your card on him as much as you want. Hand of the Six Samurai, attack-," GST-001 started once more.

"Don't take us lightly! I activate our second Reactive Armor to destroy your Hand of the Six Samurai," Rei shouted._ [**Elemental Hero Another Neos: Attack:** 2300] [**The Six Samurai - Yaichi: Attack:** 1700]_

"That was a smart move on your part. Giving the impression that the second card was more important to destroy," GST-001 murmured. "I'll end my turn. Your Epidemic Virus Black Dust destroys Another Neos though, and Dimensional Fissure removes it from play," GST-001 said.

"With Epidemic Virus Black Dust's effect, I get to return it to my hand," Rei said, reclaiming the card before the turn switched to me.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird! Then, by using his effect, we gain 500 life points for every card in your hand," I said. The red bird quickly flew over to GST-001 as the three cards in his hand gained large flowers, which our hummingbird took the nectar from.  
><em><br>[**Ruka and Rei:** 7800]_

"Then I activate Cyclone to destroy Alliance Army," I said. _[**The Six Samurai - Yaichi: Attack:** 1300]_ "Leila! Destroy The Six Samurai - Yaichi," I shouted. The woman waved her staff once more, a bright light enveloping Yaichi before creating a small explosion.  
><em><br>[**GST-001 and Noir:** 7600]_

"Then Air Hummingbird, attack them directly," I shouted. Our hummingbird flew over to GST-001 once more, but this time drilled its beak into him, which obviously faded through.  
><em><br>[**GST-001 and Noir:** 6800]_

"That will be my turn," I said.

"With my move I'll use Earth Crush to destroy your Air Hummingbird," Noir shouted as a large fist flew down from the air, crushing our monster. "Then I'll set a monster and a card. Your move," Noir said.

"If you wanna play the destroy game, I'm all game! I activate Shield Crush to destroy your face down," Rei said. A green beam flew out of the spell card, piercing through the face down monster. "Then I'll Flip Summon Lightlord Warrior Garos," Rei paused, letting the blue haired warrior appear before continuing._ [**Attack:** 1850]_ "Garos! Attack Noir directly," Rei shouted. The man charged forward before swinging his axe down against Noir.  
><em><br>[**Noir and GST-001:** 4950]_

"Leila! Do your thing and attack them too," Rei continued, the monster repeating its swing of its wand and enveloping Noir in a small explosion.  
><em><br>[**Noir and GST-001:** 3250]_

"I'll set one card face down and then you can go," Rei said.

"Well, if this is truly like your friend's deck, I'm sure you'll enjoy this. I activate Fusion in order to fuse Elemental Hero Neos and Elemental Hero Sparkman in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero The Shining," GST-001 shouted. Two monsters spiraled together and formed a man in white armor with a yellow metal sun behind him. _[**Attack:** 2600]_ "Thanks to Dimensional Fissure removing two of my Elemental Heroes from play, Elemental Hero The Shining can use its effect to gain 300 Attack for each of them," GST-001 said. _[**Attack:** 3200]_ "Elemental Hero The Shining! Destroy Garos with Shining Burst!"

"Ruka! Get out of the way," Rei shouted.

"W-what? Why? Their attacks aren't real," I said as the Fusion Monster opened its arms, a ball of light appearing in its arms. Rei quickly gave me a rough tackle, easily sending me stumbling several feet back as the monster released its attack. I watched, stunned, as the ball of light passed through Garos and rammed into Rei, causing her to get flung back against the wall behind us.  
><em><br>[**Rei and Ruka:** 6450]_

"Rei! Are you alright," I called out as Rei slowly staggered her way back to her feet. She eventually slumped back down after being unable to support herself. "Why did you take that hit for me? How did you know it was real," I asked.

"Call it instinct," Rei giggled softly. "If you were out for the count like me... Then they could skip your turn and take us out no problem... It'll be your turn... So you have to manage until I get back up," Rei said.

"That's right. Take your turn so we can end you," Noir said.

"My turn," I shouted as I took my draw. That's when I noticed my Front Claw mark was lit up brightly. In fact, I had almost forgotten the mark, as it hadn't lit up in quite a while...

The Crimson Dragon... Was it going to help me some how...?

I took a look at the only card that was in my hand. Mental Counselor Lily. A tuner. Even with Synchro Summoning, none of my monsters I had in my Extra Deck could help. I couldn't use Mental Counselor Lily's effect anyway, paying 500 life points to let the Synchro gain 1000 for the turn, as it wouldn't be sent to the Cemetery. I slowly shot a look back at Rei, who simply gave me a nod towards our one face down. That was... Magic Planter. In exchange for one of my face up Continuous Spells, I could draw two cards... That... That could be just what I need, since I have...

"I activate Magic Planter! By sending Dimensional Fissure to the Cemetery, I can draw two cards," I shouted as the cauldron swallowed up my spell. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best as I picked the two cards up. I slowly opened my eyes.

I couldn't have hoped for a better draw.

"Then I activate Star Blast! By paying intervals of 500, I can reduce a monster's level by that amount for the turn! I'll pay 500 life points in order to reduce Leila's level to three," I said.  
><em><br>[**Ruka and Rei:** 5950] [**Lightlord Magician Leila: Level:** 3]_

"I summon the tuner Mental Counselor Lily! I tune my level three Lightlord Magician Leila with my level three Mental Counselor Lily," I said. I paused, taking in a deep breath before pulling the familiar card out of my Extra Deck. Here I thought I could win this without any help from Kaze, but it looks like... "_He who was born from the blizzards of the past! Break your frozen shackles and freeze all who dare get in your path! Synchro Summon, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary_," I shouted. My tuner turned into three green rings and Rei's monster turned into three stars. The stars flew through the three rings and a bright light appeared. When it disappeared, Kaze's Ace Monster appeared before more, flapping its wings as a sign of its eagerness. [_**Attack:** 2300]  
><em>  
>"That pathetic monster? I beat Kokoro's with no problem," GST-001 said.<p>

"I activate Mental Counselor Lily's effect! When it's sent to the Cemetery in a Synchro Summon, I can pay 500 life points to raise its attack by 1000," I said.  
><em><br>[**Ruka and Rei:** 5450] [**Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary: Attack:** 3300]_

"Tch... So what? You can destroy my monster. I'll just destroy it in turn next-," GST-001 started.

"I activate Brionac's effect! By discarding one card, I can return one card to the owner's hand, but since Elemental Hero The Shining can't be in your hand, it'll be returned to your extra deck," I said as I discarded my remaining card. Brionac reeled its wings back before letting them fly forward, sending a gust that knocked GST-001's Elemental Hero back to his extra deck.

"Y-You mean," Noir asked softly, already having done the math in her head.

"You got that right... You're 50 points too short," Rei's voice said. I quickly turned around, seeing Rei had made her way over to my side during my turn. "You ready," Rei asked.

"Ready if you are," I smiled, causing Rei to smile as well.

"Brionac! Attack them directly! Frozen Burst!

"N-no! Our plan was fool proof...! How... How could you," Noir muttered as Brionac prepared the ice beam in its mouth due to our command.

"You guys should have learned from that guy Zone's defeat! Team 5Ds is unstoppable! You could never beat us," Rei cheered.

"Uh... Sorry, but it doesn't sound as... Right when you say it," I muttered. Of course, Rei was a friend who had heard of our adventures as Team 5Ds, but she wasn't a part of it. It didn't sound as powerful as it did when a true member of the team, like Yusei, said it.

"R-Regardless! You can defeat us, but Kazy is still going to perish! The future won't go as you expect it to," Noir shouted.

"On the contraire," Sherry's voice said. My heart leap to my throat when I saw Kaze was on his feet, no matter how unstable his balance seemed to be.

"How! I hit you head on with that," GST-001 shouted.

"You must be getting soft yourself, Acelin," Noir muttered as Brionac flapped its wings impatiently, apparently waiting for our conversations to be done.

"Oh! That's right! Brionac, go ahead and finish this thing," Rei said, in which the Sea Serpent happily let the beam fly, which when it hit the duo, created an explosion.  
><em><br>[**GST-001 and Noir:** 0 LP]_

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, it revealed the two on the ground in clear pain. "W... What is your wish...? You two won... Fair and square," Noir said, probably as loud as she could.

"Well, uh... Rei, do you have an idea," I asked.

"The wish is all yours, Ruka! Without your cards, there's no way I could have won," Rei smiled.

"B-But without yours, I couldn't have used mine," I protested.

"Fine then. I'm going to check on Kaze. You pick something. Happy," Rei asked.

"B-but-," I started, but Rei had already jogged over to Sherry and Kaze, promptly getting in an argument with Sherry.

A wish... Anything... I had anything in the world that I wanted right before me, yet... I think I have everything I already want. Kaze is alright, the world is safe, Rua isn't hurt... But... James, Noir and GST-001... They... "My wish... It's that you, GST-001, and James could live a better life. No revenge, no secrets. Just a happy life," I said.

"Don't you think that's a waste," GST-001 asked. "Wasting a wish on us, who wanted to end everything," GST-001 continued.

"I'm happy with all I have right now... But you aren't... You could use the ability to time travel to go back and get James, couldn't you? Then you three could be a family again and live happily," I said.

"People like us don't deserve happiness," Noir muttered.

"But the least you could do is make it up to James. He didn't deserve to perish, and giving him the family is the least you can do," I said.

"Is that so...? Very well... We'll see what we can do," Noir said before nuzzling herself against GST-001, both quickly slipping into unconsciousness.

"Hey! Ruka! Come here! You have to settle something," Rei called out, clearly still in her argument with Sherry.

"Yeah? What is it," I asked after I had made my way over to them.

"Sherry says that she wasn't putting the moves on Kaze while he was unconscious! Well, I beg to differ, because why else would she be so happy about watching someone who's unconscious," Rei said.

"Feel free to ignore her. She's not listening to reason at the moment," Kaze sighed. I managed to keep myself together for a few more seconds, but after seeing Kaze was alive and well, I could help but let out all the tears that I had held in, all of the emotions I had. Everything. "H-hey! D-did I say something wrong! I-I'm sorry," Kaze panicked.

"She's crying over you, you goof," Rei sighed.

"S-So it is my fault! I'm really sorry for whatever I did," Kaze said.

"Oh, just shut up and hug her already," Rei said. Kaze quickly blushed and I couldn't help but stop my crying.

"W-what," I asked.

"Come on! Take up the offer! I won't let you guys hug whenever now that I'm around! So make it quick and make it sappy," Rei said.

"Uh... So, I guess we-," Kaze started, but I started crying once more before tackling him with a hug, causing his blush to get heavier.

"I said to hug her, Kaze! I meant it," Rei shouted, causing Kaze to quickly and awkwardly hug me back. Just as the awkwardness started to fade, Rei quickly pulled Kaze back. "I didn't mean for ten minutes! Get yourself together, man," Rei said, confusing Kaze more than he already was, as it had hardly been a few seconds. "Now I'm going to start crying and screaming, and I want you to do something romantic! Surprise me, alright," Rei asked.

"W-what the heck is going on? We should get out of here before anything crazy starts happening," Kaze said.

"We've already hit crazy," Sherry noted.

"Ruka," a voice called out, causing me to look up from my crying. My twin quickly hugged me, nearly sending us to the ground. "There you are! I've been looking for you guys! Did you win, did you win," Rua asked eagerly. "Ah! You're crying! You didn't, did you," Rua asked quickly once more, giving us no chance to answer.

"Relax, we won! No worry," Rei said.

"Sweet! We can go home and you guys can tell me all about it! It'll be awesome! Just like old times," Rua cheered as I wiped my tears away. "Come on, Ruka! Let's go," Rua said before grabbing my hand and running off, dragging me with him.

"Guys," Rei called out as the others raced to catch up to my overly hyper brother and I. Rua slowly let go of my hand and eased himself to a stop, waiting for the others. I kept tumbling forward for a while though, my vision fading as I fell forward. Someone managed to catch me though and lift me into their arms.

"Kaze," I asked softly, my vision still slightly blurred.

"You've been through a lot today. You can go to sleep, if you want. We'll get you home no problem," Kaze smiled. I mumbled the best thanks I could muster before sleep overcame me. Accompanied with this sleep came plenty of good dreams, which I could only expect, safe from harm in Kaze's arms. It was like being in a fairy tale, knowing all of the hardships would be over... Of course, at the time, I had no idea that there was an envelope in Rua and I's mailbox, both of our names written on it in the writing that we would both be able to identify as our father's.

* * *

><p><em><span>Notes:<span>_

- Crimson Dragon = Lame excuse to pull out magical cards 8D Yup. Got fed up with trying to get a duel out, so you get the cliche awesome card draw of doom (The duel went on long enough anyway...) Magic Planter's effect also comes from the anime... Because I needed some cool thing to add a card to contribute to the magical draw of the Crimson Dragon.

- If you watch the anime, you should be able to tell where the whole letter thing at the end is going...

- After editing this a few times and my computer not saving the changes, I kind of tired of reading the same stuff over and over again, so I may have skipped something in editing accidentally... It happens, I guess.

- Cards:

English - Japanese  
>Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier - Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary<br>Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress - Lightlord Magician Leila  
>Counselor Lily - Mental Counselor Lily<br>Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior - Lightlord Warrior Garos  
>Smashing Ground - Earth Crush<br>Elemental Hero Voltic - Elemental Hero Voltech  
>Giant Trunade - Hurricane<br>Monster Reborn - Dead Resurrection  
>United We Stand - Power of Unity<br>Gift of the Mystical Elf - Holy Elf's Blessing  
>The A. Forces - Alliance Army<br>Ekibyo Drakmord - Infectious Disease Virus Blackdust  
>Royal Decree - Proclamation of the Royal Palace<br>Mirror Force - Holy Barrier - Mirror Force  
>Elemental Hero Neos Alius - Elemental Hero Another Neos<br>Stop Defense - Defense Seal  
>Jain, Lightsworn Paladin - Lightlord Paladin Jean<br>Sakuretsu Armor - Reactive Armor  
>Mystical Space Typhoon - Cyclone<p>

* * *

><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>_

2dayIsUrDay: Basically, there's this building... Aaand in the building, there are halls. At first, they all had their own halls, which Noir and GST-001 invaded. During this confrontation and others, they've just been at random spaces along the halls. (The halls aren't small or anything. Specifically made to have duels, so they have wide/tall walls)

The Wild Fang: That was the whole point of the whole character, yaaay. GST-001 wasn't going to be the antagonist since he's pretty passive, but having them beat up a girl all alone in no fun at all... And this is a fan fiction for the Tag Force games, so it must end in a climactic tag duel, of course!


	21. One Time Fling

"Ruka! Ruka," Rua called out, causing me to look up from my breakfast as my twin ran into the room, clutching a piece of paper in his hands.

"Please don't tell me this is another tournament," I muttered. Of course, I guess we did have _some_ fun... But most of all that happened was... horrible. Pretty much fainting after the last duel too... I would think we could take a little break.

"No! It's a letter! A letter from Mom and Dad," Rua said. I quickly jumped out of my seat and ran over to my brother, who gave me the letter to read. "Well? Isn't it great," Rua smiled, excitement dripping out his ears at the chance to see our parents once more. They had finally finished their over sea jobs, but they weren't able to return to Neo Domino, as their jobs required them to live about a hour drive away. They also told us how they had heard about what happened in Neo Domino and about the tournament and praised both of us accordingly. Of course, they probably had no idea about my interests in Kaze, as I had never told that.

I had hardly managed to get it out to him. Getting it out to my parents would probably be even worse.

"Aren't you excited, Ruka? I get that we're leaving everyone and they're like our new family, but I'm sure they'll still be here! They won't forget us! Friends don't do that to each other," Rua said.

"But," I trailed off. I don't think Rua quite understood the situation I was in. If I leave to go be with my mother and father... That would leave Kaze alone with Rei and Sherry... There's no doubt that he won't be able to stay single and wait for me, or some fantasy idea like that.

"It sounds like we're supposed to leave tonight in order to be there as soon as we can," Rua muttered.

"So we're supposed to say our goodbyes now then," I asked. I haven't seen my parents in years, and they were waiting a little ways away for Rua and I... Maybe if I tell Rei and Sherry the situation, then they'll at least back off for the several months or so that I'll be gone... Or maybe... I can convince him to chose now, before I go.

"I guess so... There's too many people to say goodbye to though," Rua sighed. "Here! I have an idea! I'll go to Yusei's and tell everyone there goodbye for us, and you can go to Kaze's and tell everyone there goodbye," Rua shouted.

"Sure... I guess," I said. Who said that they'd all even be there...? Well, obviously Kaze would at home, probably sleeping off what happened. Sherry would probably sneak her way in as usually and Rei probably went with her or something, but Yusei and the others might not be at Yusei's. They all had their own paths to pick as well. After all, it seemed that the world was done being in a crisis with the end of the tournament and all of our Signer marks disappeared. Rua was the one who was most upset about this, as he hardly had the mark for more than a few months and the rest of us had it for much longer.

"Don't worry, it'll all be fine," Rua smiled before running off, making sure to grab his duel board on the way. After setting our parents' letter on the table, I made my way to my duel board as well, hoping that I was bringing my best persuasion skills as well.

* * *

><p>"<em>Please<em>," Rei begged, her forehead pressed against the floor so hard that you'd think she thought it would convince Kaze to side with her the harder she pushed. On what the problem was, I wasn't quite sure, as I just opened the door and was confronted by Rei groveling before Kaze's feet and Sherry standing as an intimidating figure behind her.

"B-but Ruka-," Kaze started.

"We can tell her later, I promise! But tell _us _now," Rei said as she clasped her hands over her head to enforce the beg even more.

"Uh... Guys," I asked. Kaze only had a few seconds to look at me before Rei jumped to her feet.

"Is it better now? Ruka's here! You can tell us now, right," Rei asked eagerly.

"Tell us what," I asked.

"We've been trying to convince Kaze to tell us who he likes the most, and he wouldn't because you weren't here! But now you are, so he can finally chose," Rei smiled.

"Okay then... If you want me to get it done with, then I-," Kaze started. He stopped when Rei got back into her begging position.

"Wait, wait! No! Don't chose now! I just got back! You've know these guys for years! You gotta give me a chance to redeem myself here," Rei shouted.

"Make up your mind, will you," Sherry muttered.

"Actually... Kaze, can you really pick now? I think things would end up better if you did," I said.

"Ruka, stay on my side for this! Us girls have to stick in this together," Rei insisted, refusing to give up on her begging still.

"Why are you so eager for his choosing all of a sudden," Sherry asked.

"I... I'm going to be moving. I'm moving to go back with my parents, and we're leaving tonight."

"You can't leave," Rei shouted, quickly getting to her feet and grabbing my shoulders. "Not now! You definitely can't leave now," Rei continued.

"Why not? Any other day and you'd be all over her getting gone," Sherry said.

"Ruka's a woman now! As another woman in the running, taking Kaze without getting through her too would be like some kind of sneak attack," Rei said, briefly letting go of my shoulders as she turned to Sherry. After she got a new idea, she quickly clasped them once more though. "I got it! You can go and live with your parents for a while! While you're gone, I'll keep Sherry back so that I can get my time with Kaze in and you can be with your parents! It's a win-win! Kaze can chose after you get back," Rei grinned, letting me know that if I protested, she would start her begging towards me instead.

"What makes you think you can stop me from doing _anything_," Sherry asked.

"You know what I can do! I can do the one-two upper cut! You won't know what hit you," Rei said, playfully punching towards Sherry, who was clearly unimpressed.

"Guys, we can argue later! Let's give Ruka a nice time before she has to go," Kaze said.

"Or even better yet, _you_ can give her a nice time," Rei said.

"Y-you mean-," Kaze started.

"Of course! A one time fling! Ruka, meet us back here in an hour," Rei said before grabbing Kaze by his wrists and dragging him off.

"W-wait! R-Rei!"

"Now who does she think she is? Deciding this all on her own," Sherry sighed.

"Does... Did she really just," I trailed off.

"Yes. She set you up for a one time date with Kaze." A few seconds passed and then I promptly fainted onto the floor.

* * *

><p>"So, uh... I guess we," Kaze trailed off, probably feeling awkward with the new look that Rei had given him. His hair was now spiked slightly and he was only wearing a pair of jeans, a short sleeved pale blue jacket and a long sleeved gray undershirt. Me? I had just recovered from my fainting several minutes ago and had no idea I was supposed to change into something fancy. I had feverishly removed my ponytails though in a hope that he wouldn't figure out that I fainted the moment he left.<p>

"We... We can just go back if you want. I know that you probably don't want to do this and-," I started.

"Well, we won't see each other for a while, so we might as well do something fun while we have the time alone," Kaze said.

"I... I know it's selfish, but... Couldn't you... Would you be able to visit me when I move or something," I asked.

"Yusei and the others might need some help though. The future isn't golden and everything... I'll definitely visit when I have time though, don't you worry," Kaze smiled. "But enough with the morbid thinking! Let's have some fun," Kaze continued.

"Right..."

* * *

><p>"Are you alright, Ruka," Kaze asked.<p>

"Hm? Y-yeah," I muttered, slowly turning back to him. It had been the fifth time that I swore I heard Sherry and Rei, but this time, I actually saw them for a brief few second. That meant they were probably following us... There was nothing to really hide though. It was just like your average date. We walked around, we talked, did a little shopping, and that's really it.

"Guys. Your times up," Rei said as she popped out of the middle of the crowd of people we were in, causing Kaze to jump, as he hadn't noticed her following us.

"H-how long have you been here," Kaze asked.

"I said I'd give you a date. I didn't say a private one," Rei sighed. "But one hour is the limit! Besides, Ruka probably needs to get going," Rei said.

"That's right... Thanks for everything, truly. See you later," I smiled, as it was all I could do to push the rest of my emotions back. I pulled my duel board out and hopped on it before riding it towards my soon to be old home. There was no point in crying over it. It wasn't like we'd never see each other again. He'd visit, I'd eventually be allowed to come back, and if worse came to worse, there were always letters. I simply accelerated to push my thoughts at ease. Tonight, I'd finally see my parents... And everything would end out good, because when I came back, Kaze would pick and the worrying would be done. So for the time being, I should just enjoy the ride that life is giving me...

* * *

><p><em>Reviews:<em>

GodzillaG: It'll be good depending on what pairing(s?) you support xD

The Wild Fang: But she already confessed how long ago. (It's actually like a week or two, but why not...) Rei just stalks Kaze now as a personal stalker, obviously. Ex-cheerleaders can't do much D: And this story is going to end in a few few chapters with Kaze choosing one of the girls, as obviously, Ruka will finally return.


	22. Rei's New Solution

_~ Five Years Later ~_

I looked up from my homework when I heard my phone vibrate on the wooden desk. I grabbed my phone, staring at the screen for a few seconds. Tenpei? What could he want? I flipped my phone open. "Hello?"

"Ruka! Turn on Channel 18! You'll never believe who's on," Tenpei shouted. I rested my phone on my shoulder so I could fumble through my homework to find the television remote, promptly turning it to the channel Tenpei mentioned.

"Here we have the leader of the newly budding turbo duel team that took this tournament by storm! Rua, how did you meet your teammates and decide to form this team," the newswoman asked. I sat stunned as my brother appeared on the screen, looking as he had when we went our separate ways a year ago. He claimed he wanted to become a champion turbo duelist. To think he had already accomplished his goal, and so early.

"Isn't it amazing? I can't believe Rua managed it," Tenpei said.

"Believe it or not, our team actually isn't finished yet," Rua laughed.

"What do you mean? Is there still someone you wish to recruit? Yusei Fudo? Jack Atlas," the reporter asked.

"No, none of those guys. You see, a couple years ago, Kaze and I made a promise with my sister! We promised we'd make the best team ever, so when she finishes her school work and all that, we'll be a whole team and we'll be able to take on even bigger teams and better opponents," Rua grinned. Kaze... He met up with Kaze and formed a team...? I didn't even take him seriously when he made that promise years ago...

"Ruka! He's talking about you! That's so cool," Tenpei shouted.

"When your sister joins you, can we expect to see even better duels from the five of you," the report asked. 'Five'...? Don't tell me... If there's Kaze, Rua, and then there would be me...

"Of course! I'm sure she's got her own new combos and everything! She'll take us all by surprise, that's for sure," Rua said.

"Well, thank you for your time, Rua," the report smiled, in which Rua gave his own smile back before running off. The camera followed and my doubts were proved true, as in the pit of Rua's team was not only Kaze, but Sherry and Rei as well.

"Tenpei, do you know where they are right now," I asked.

"The tournament is actually taking place in a nearby town, Ikeda. I bet that you could catch up with him if you really wanted," Tenpei said.

"Thanks for the notice, Tenpei," I said before hanging up my phone, stuffing it in my pocket and running off to go to my D-wheel. You hadn't expected me to stay on a duel board forever, had you? When Rua and I became the age, we both got D-wheels, if not for easier turbo duels, but they also double as a way for transportation. When riding my D-wheel, I could probably get to Ikeda in a matter of several minutes, as it wasn't even three miles away.

To finally see Kaze again... After all this time... I increased my pace.

* * *

><p>I pulled my helmet off, slowly staring around the town. It wasn't much different from Neo Domino, but it had much less residents, or at least walking around ones. I stared at my helmet for a few seconds, one thought finally dawning to me. If Kaze was a big time Turbo Duelist... What is he truly forget little student me...? Not like who I was, but like how I looked? Kaze hadn't changed much, as his growing time was over and he just had more of a build and longer hair, but me...? I was much taller and had grown out of my childish figure. He could very well not recognize me...<p>

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice two girls run eagerly past me, whispering about something as they clutched pen and paper in hand. I only noticed them when the bell on the ice cream parlor door rang. I slowly made my way towards the parlor. This was... An ice cream parlor was where Kaze and I first truly started to-

"Awesome! Look at all of the flavors they have," a purple haired teen cheered as she hungrily looked over all of the flavors. A blond and brunette stood behind her, the blond woman with her arm around the brown haired boy's, which he didn't notice, as he was too busy watching the other girl currently fawning over the ice cream. Surrounding the trio were several squealing girls who didn't dare try and talk to the three who were ordering their ice cream. My feet were glued in place and I couldn't move. I watched the three get their ice cream, sit at a table and start eating. I watched as the blond accidentally got some ice cream on her face and the boy wiped it with a napkin, causing her to blush. I watched as the purple haired girl shoved her face into her ice cream, which the boy had to wipe off as well. Once I realized I was basically being a stalker, I quickly turned away and stared at the ground, appearing as if I was waiting for someone.

In actuality, I was though.

I only turned when the door chimed. "Aw man! That was the best ice cream _ever!_We should came back here again and-," Rei started. All of our eyes met and nobody said anything. "H-hey! It's-," Rei started but Sherry put her hand over her mouth, blurring out her attempt to say my name.

"We'll go meet up with Rua. Why don't you stay here," Sherry asked, or more commanded, as she dragged Rei away, hand still over her mouth.

"So, uh... How have you been," I asked awkwardly. Kaze opened his mouth to speak when the girls from inside the parlor ran out, promptly handing him several letters.

"T-thank you," Kaze said. The girls promptly squealed before running away.

"You're much popular now, huh," I asked.

"How would you know if I was popular or not before," Kaze asked.

"Don't you recognize me," I asked softly, hoping he just phrased it weirdly.

"Sorry, but no. Should I recognize you," Kaze asked. Several years ago, I would pull up my sleeve and shown my Signer mark, but now I was unable to. I went with the next best thing. I pulled out Ancient Fairy Dragon from my deck. Kaze's eyes widened and he quickly blushed. "R-Ruka! I-I'm sorry! I couldn't tell it was you! Without the pig tails and the jacket...! You look so much older and mature and everything so I-," Kaze started rambling but I giggled, causing him to blush even more before looking away.

"Kaze! Kaze, can you give us some tips on dueling," a girl asked as she ran over to us, followed by a group of girls.

"Sorry, but can we have some alone time," I asked. The lead girl made a sound that I could only take as she was offended.

"Just_ who_ do you think you are! You aren't Sherry or Rei! You aren't his teammate," the girl shouted.

"Excuse me, but she's a good friend of mine. I'd be happy to help you later," Kaze smiled.

"R-Really! Okay then! Take all the time you need! I'll wait for days if I have to," the girl shouted before running off with her squealing friends.

"Sorry about that... Something about being in a tournament makes you instantly popular with people," Kaze sighed.

"Kaze! What did I tell you! When those crazy fan girls come, you smack them down! It's bad enough with Sherry around," Rei shouted as she stormed over to us, Sherry running after her to catch her once more.

"Hey," lead girl from before shouted.

"They're just fans, guys," Kaze reassured.

"_Hey_," all of the fans shouted this time, causing Kaze to sigh.

"If you want, I'll go teach them whose man you are for you," Sherry said.

"N-no, it's fine. I'll do it," Kaze said before walking over to the mob, not noticing Sherry following him over so she could glare at the girls as he spoke.

"So, how you still feeling after all these years," Rei asked.

"I'll always follow Kaze, no matter what... He's always been so nice and everything. Even if he goes with one of you, I think I'll still like him just the same," I muttered.

"I knew we shared the same feelings," Rei smiled. "But the good news! Real good news! I kept Sherry back, like I promised! She didn't touch one hair on Kaze's cute little head while I was around," Rei said proudly.

"What about when you weren't around," I asked. Rei's head quickly dropped.

"Don't mention that," Rei mumbled.

"S-Sherry! Not helping the point," Kaze snapped, causing us to look up, seeing Sherry standing extremely close to Kaze. My eyes widened when Rei flew forward, promptly tackling Sherry and almost sending the two to the ground. Rei quickly started started pulling Sherry's arm, seeing as she wasn't moving.

"What did I tell you! No putting the moves on Kaze! Just because Ruka's here doesn't mean anything," Rei shouted as she started pulling her sleeves up.

"G-guys! N-not in public," Kaze insisted. Sherry calmly took a few steps back, causing Rei to pull her sleeve back down proudly, figuring Sherry had gotten scared. "But now that Ruka's here... What we decided... I'll just-," Kaze started.

"I got it! I know how to settle everything now, since more time has passed then we thought," Rei said.

"And that would be," Sherry asked.

"Kaze gets to go out with each of us once! Flirting doesn't count for anything, because he can't see the real us! So after seeing the real us, he can chose! It'll only be a few days delay anyway, and it'll make sure he isn't biting off more than he can chew.," Rei smiled, feeling quite smug with her idea.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to date thirty girls," Kaze muttered.

"Not the crazy fan girls! I mean the three of us," Rei snapped.

"We're not crazy! You're the crazy one," the lead fan girl shouted.

"So, what do you say, Kaze," Rei asked happily, ignoring the girls behind her. Kaze remained silent for a few seconds.

"I don't really have a choice... Do I...?"

"No. No you don't~"

"But it'd be easier to just chose now and-"

"Come on, guys! Rock-paper-scissors! Let's go!"

"Would you listen to me for once?"

"Be quiet, Kaze! This is a girl's pride fight now, that just happens to involve fake hand made rocks, paper, and scissors!"

* * *

><p><em>The perfect date... Well, I'm going first, as I won that pathetic little rock-paper-scissor match, so I should make it count... Something bold that neither Rei nor Ruka would think of, but will also leave a strong impression...<em>

_I've got it... The perfect date for Kaze and I... It's at a hotel.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Notes:<p>

- Oh the joys of having to try and rewrite this chapter several times because I forgot my laptop needed energy several times... Anywho, I was talking with my good friend, GodzilaG, and I asked where Kaze and Sherry would go on a date to. He suggested either a romantic place, somewhere that Kaze would pick, or "_if she was feeling EXTRA dominate, a hotel/motel room"_. And thus, this idea was born xD (And no, it won't be anything like you probably think from the hotel idea, in case anyone had that question. This story_ is_ rated T and everything. Yaaay for T.)

- For everyone who keeps asking when the story will end, there will be a chapter for each date (Totaling to three) And possibly an aftermath chapter, so approximately four to go.

- Had to throw in a little irony for my English teacher who was making us point out all the irony in a book we were reading... Got stuck in my head and everything. (Irony being that up until this point, the girls wanted Kaze to chose and now that Kaze goes to chose, they want to stall.)

* * *

><p><span>Reviews:<span>

GodzillaG:You just feel sorry for her now...? *brick'd* I wasn't going for that approach when I went with that route, but if it works for that way, to some extent, then more power to it

2dayIsUrDay:Yes, this is after the whole time skip. The original series had an eight year time skip, but since Ruka/Rua are older in this, I cut off three years, because in this story, they started off three years older.

The Wild Fang:You guys will probably get sick of hearing this, but I'm not kidding when I say I have friends I base the characters off of. My Ruka-like friend, when at the mention of being on a date with her crush, who I'm 75% sure knows that she likes him due to how she acts, she starts blushing like crazy and all that, so I always imagined that if she did get set up on a date with him by one of us in our little circle of friends, she would faint or something similar ^^; I was the cool friend who mentioned her being on a date with him because they went ice skating together, which she claimed wasn't a date at all, because there were other people directly with them.

As a note, as the story _will_ be ending soon, if anyone has any questions they'd like cleared up, you can either ask it with your review or send me a message about it and I'd be happy to answer ^^


	23. Hotel Date

"So," Kaze trailed off, averting his eyes from mine and staring at the floor instead, clearly feeling awkward about the idea of us sharing a hotel room. Of course, he had no idea until probably five minutes ago when we pulled up to the hotel that we'd even be doing more than the initial swimming I told him. After a few seconds he started fumbling through his pockets, struggling to find something. I expected him to pull out his deck or something that seemed to be typical with him when he was troubled, but he pulled out a note card instead."_'I've been looking forward to such an evening where the two of us could spend some quality time to get to know each other better'_," Kaze read. I simply walked over to him, pulled the note card out of his hand and ripped it into pieces.

"Now, why did you bring notes for this," I asked.

"W-well, it's a date, and I thought you would want something fancy and all that, but this is really nerve racking and," Kaze trailed off.

"You should just act natural. That's what this date is all about, remember? To get to know what the other is like when they are in a natural setting," I said. I felt a smile appear on my face as I watch Kaze blush slightly before looking away once more.

"Well, that's a relief! I was thinking this would be all stuffy and everything," Kaze chuckled. "But anyway, this is an awesome room you got! I mean, it's ocean themed! The craftsmanship is amazing and so realistic! It really brings back memories," Kaze said, oblivious to the fact that all of the rooms were ocean themed. Our room just happened to have waves on the wallpaper and a sandy colored carpet compared to the other sea shell theme or other ocean like substances.

"Speaking of which... Where did your interest in the ocean and sea life come from," I asked.

"Back before I went to Duel Academy, my parents and I lived in a beach house. I won a sand castle tournament and then a dueling tournament and the grand prize was Brionac. Things just took off from there," Kaze explained, although his eyes were still glued to the walls, still admiring the work.

"Wouldn't that result in you favoring sand castles more than the ocean," I asked.

"Without the ocean, we never would have been there. The ocean, no matter where you go, is always the same too, and it's nice to know that you can have something that's constant," Kaze said, slowly turning back towards me, a new spark in his eyes. As much as I would have liked to protest that pollution and everything ruined our oceans, I kept my tongue still about the topic.

"What do you say we go see who's better in the water then? A man such as yourself should be able to easily be able to out swim me, especially with your history with the water," I pointed out.

"Is that a challenge I hear, Miss. LeBlanc," Kaze asked.

"And what if it is, Mister Kokoro?"

"I'm just saying, I think this will be like our last duel."

"What's with you men and your duels and D-Wheels?"

"Is that a double challenge or something?"

"And if it is...?"

* * *

><p>"I thought that a big man like you could have easily stood up against a little wave like this," I teased as Kaze struggled to his feet, wiping out the water of his eyes as he did.<p>

"_Little! _You didn't tell me when we got in here that ten foot waves would come flying at me! I thought the high walls were so that no one would fly out when the waves come, not keep the waves in," Kaze snapped.

"Well, just be thankful that I didn't drag you to an outside wave pool. If I would have, not only would your pride be hurt, but you'd be frozen to the bone," I noted.

"Are you asking for a thank you or something," Kaze asked. "Because if anything, I think you owe me a thank you because I-"

"Mama? Mama," a voice called out.

"What's that boy doing," Kaze asked.

"Looks like he's looking for his mother," I said.

"Well, he shouldn't be in here alone... Let's go see if we can go get him and find one of his parents at least," Kaze said before he started making his way through the water, in which I did my best to keep up against the drag of the water.

"Mama! Where are you, mama," the black haired child asked, still struggling forward into deeper waters, ignoring that his head was barley above water now. "Ah! Mister! Mister, have you see my mama," the boy asked as he latched onto one of Kaze's arms, doing his best to hoist himself above the water.

"Well... What does your mother look like? My friend and I will do our best to help you find her," Kaze smiled, probably doing his best on the spot thinking to calm the boy down.

"If we were to really go out, I would hope that you wouldn't call me your friend," I teased.

"Well, of course I would, but I doubt a kid like him knows what a girlfriend even is besides a female friend," Kaze sighed. "Now, look. Sherry and I won't be able to help you find your mother if you don't let us know what she looks like," Kaze said.

"Alright...! You see, my mama and I got separated after we got some ice cream! She's about as tall as your friend and-," the boy started.

"Right here might not be the best place. The wave could come at any time," I said. Of course, I had quickly jinxed ourselves by saying that, as the excited screams from behind us indicated the wave was already coming. All Kaze had to do though was pick the boy up, as we were towards the shallow end of the wave pool and the wave was hardly even past our waists. After seeing the tears forming in the child's eyes and Kaze's panicked expression, I took the liberty of taking the boy into my arms. Being but a child, he couldn't keep emotions back much longer and started crying. "Now now... It'll be alright. You wouldn't want your mother to see you being weak, would you," I asked. The boy nodded, sniffling as he did.

"Oh, there you are, James," a woman shouted. I would have dropped the child in my hands if Kaze wasn't there to quickly catch him.

"W-what the heck is with you, Sherry," Kaze asked. The blond 'mother' before me just offered a subtle smile. How could Kaze not see the connection...? I understand that it's been a few years, but still... The woman who nearly had killed both of us was standing leisurely before us, the only difference being her hair was cut to shoulder length.

"Well, thank you two. It seems like being in your debt is becoming a habit of mine," Noir said before taking James into her arms.

"Sorry, but have we met before," Kaze asked.

"I don't blame you for not remembering. After all, you have your girlfriend with you. Or would you prefer 'Wife to be'," Noir teased.

"T-that-," Kaze started. He quickly paused and shot me a glance, as if fearing I would beat him if he said the wrong words. "We look nothing like a married couple," Kaze said.

"That's why she said 'to be' and not simply 'Wife'. That aside, does that mean you think we look like a normal couple then," I asked.

"As much as I'd like to watch your little argument, I have to get back to Acelin," Noir said before taking her leave.

"Acelin..? Isn't that," Kaze trailed off.

"Took you long enough," I sighed.

"T-that was Noir? Then that means... That kid was James? Like, James James," Kaze asked. I nodded. He sat there, trying to comprehend, but after a minute, he gave up, which was probably for the best of both of us. "Uh... Not to sound weird, but can we go back to our room," Kaze asked. Now you can't expect me to let this one go, can you?

"I never imagined you as someone who would want to go to that on our first date," I said. "Men are so typical. It's always the same thing with you. Being in swim suits didn't help, did it," I continued, not bothering to give him a chance to get his thoughts straight.

"B-but...! I... It's just been a long day and," Kaze trailed off, struggling to pull the words together. "We have two beds you know! I'd prefer to use them too," Kaze said. After realizing how that phrase could be taken, he quickly struggled with words once more. "You know! I mean you take one and I take the other! Not like that," Kaze said.

"I'm just joking, relax. Rei would be pulling at my hair if we even were in the same five feet," I sighed, already imagining my teammate in one of her 'moments' of childishness. During one of said moments, I nearly lost a hand full of hair. Luckily, she isn't that strong, so there's no real worry in it. She also wasn't here, which meant... If I played my cards right, I may get some enjoyment out of this night after all.

* * *

><p>"Kaze? Are you awake," I asked. After waiting a few seconds and getting no response, I got off my designated bed and walked over to his. I snapped a few times to make sure he was asleep, but I should have known he was already out like a light. Well, that sure took all the fun out of this. Regardless, I slipped under the covers.<p>

Maybe I should have gotten us a single bedded room to begin with...

* * *

><p><em>The hotel! The stinking hotel! I knew I couldn't trust Sherry! I should have made it so you had to be somewhere public! That would have solved this whole problem! No matter! I'll make an even better date! One that tops whatever could have happened!<em>

_Let's see... The perfect date... It has to be at the local park! Get ready, Kaze! This maiden in love is going to take you on the date of your life!_

* * *

><p><em><span>Reviews:<span>  
><em>

2dayIsUrDay:Sherry wouldn't be too much of a jerk when she knows that it's oh so important. And... Why didn't you ask this sooner D: I knew I forgot something, and after the conflict is over, you brought it up xD Well, you reminded me of several other things that I forgot now, so yippee Skippy, better late then never. I guess. I'll just make a different spot for the Questions and Answers then to make it easier...

GodzillaG: If I asked any other guy, I bet they'd all be jealous or something, regardless. Maybe I just know too many weird boys xD Me, who has never been on a date, honestly, would have no idea about how a date should go, so obviously I took the suggestion. Forever single powers a go :D

* * *

><p><em><span>Q&amp;A:<span>_

**Q:** In one of your previous chapters (can't remember which one), when Kaze knocked Noir away by using Brionac outside the hotel, I wasn't sure how Brionac became 'real'. Can you clear this up? (From: 2dayIsUrDay)

**A: **As I said, you totally should have asked this earlier, but aaanyway... This was totally supposed to be explain in story during the Ruka/Noir conflict, but it skipped my mind, I guess. What was supposed to be explained was that the island's duel system was something very magical that had an on/off switch which allows people dueling at the time to have real monsters. During the magical time of hacking, both Sherry and Kaze learned of this secret and he simply decided to use it in a hope to scare Noir away.

**Q:**What really happened with Sherry and Kaze?

**A:** This was another thing that I just happened to forget because I'm stupid like that... This was totally supposed to be explained during the Noir/Sherry+Rei+Ruka duel to just tick them off. The main gist is that they get to the designated place, hack hack hack, get caught and attacked, (which is when Ruka gets the magical ESPN or whatever) break out and try to hack some more, run into Noir, try again but keep running into Noir, tries once more but runs into GST-001, who invites them to the tournament. (Incognito) After refusing, GST-001 beats them up once more and sends Kaze to the infirmary and Sherry to a room with the thought that if he separated them, then they'd join the tournament. It ultimately works because they sense somethings up and decide to join.


	24. Park Date

"Aren't you going to eat anything," I asked. Kaze didn't say anything and just continued to awkwardly pull at the neck of his shirt. "I knew it! Sherry did something last night, didn't she," I grumbled, ready to put on the puppy dog face if he wouldn't tell me anything.

"It's just... If I eat as much as you are, then I'll be broke by the end of these little dates," Kaze muttered, hesitantly eying the food before me. "I get that it's something new but... That's a little too much food, isn't it," Kaze continued.

"Well, if money is an issue, then I can pay, no problem! I figure that Sherry probably broke you dry anyway," I said and began to search for my purse.

"You do remember that you left it, right," Kaze asked. I quickly blushed and sat back up.

"O-of course I remember! I... I just," I trailed off.

"But it's fine, I guess. It's not like it's that bad. I'll just visit the bank," Kaze said.

"Come on, don't put it like that," I mumbled.

"I-I didn't mean it like that! I just don't carry around much money at one time because of pick pockets and what not. It's no big deal, honest," Kaze said. "Besides... I guess it'd only be fair if I spent the same amount on all of you... Or maybe it's just best so you don't fight," Kaze muttered.

A pause from both of our ends...

"Kaze...? Can I ask you a question," I asked.

"Hm? Yeah, I guess. What is it," Kaze asked, pausing from his search through his pockets for his wallet.

"If... When the time comes when you pick one of us... If you pick Sherry, can you just make it fast, like they say to do with the band-aids or whatever," I asked. Kaze looked up at me, slightly confused.

"Are you saying that-," Kaze started.

"No way! There's no way I'm giving up, if that's what you're thinking! This date is just started, after all! I still have as much chance as anyone," I grinned. Kaze just kept staring at me for a few seconds, so to avoid any more conversation, I started eating my food once more, which caused him to sigh.

"Don't you want to do something else _besides _eat," Kaze asked.

"I have you _all_ day Kaze! If you want to rush it and get straight to the making out, then be my guest," I teased. Kaze promptly remained silent for the next five minutes while I finished my meal.

* * *

><p>"So, Rei, what made you change from the whole 'Maiden in love' deck to the Lightlord deck," Kaze asked. "I mean, you had it the whole time you were at Duel Academy, didn't you," Kaze added.<p>

"Well, yeah, but after losing a couple times with it, I realized the flaws in the deck, so I decided to pick another deck," I said.

"I know what you mean. It's good to have several decks though, because you never know who you're going to have to face. I used to have a different deck for when I faced Yusei and Jack, but then I got my Beast deck together and it seems to work pretty good," Kaze said.

"You kept onto Brionac though, it seems. You use it a whole lot more than you used to at Da though. I remember you only used it... once or twice during our tag duels," I muttered.

"That's because Synchros were hardly what I'd call common back then. Everyone was all Ritual and Fusion. It'd be unfair to use a Synchro then," Kaze sighed. I was about to say something when I heard some pretty angry foot steps, too loud to be either Sherry or Ruka. To top it off, it sounded like they were wearing high heels, which if you couldn't tell I doubt either of them would wear.

"Ha! I knew it was you, Kaze! You jerk," a voice shouted. Kaze sighed and I prepared to turn around and shove the random stranger away for ruining our date, but the woman was already past me. "You told me you'd help me with my dueling and you didn't," the brown haired woman continued.

"Uh... Who are you again," Kaze asked.

"Hold up, I think I've seen her somewhere... Maybe... I think it's that Wendy chick who took our order at that fast food place," I said. "Just what are you doing here, Wendy? Did we forget to leave a tip or something," I asked.

"My name isn't Wendy, it's Susan! And I don't work at some fast food place, I work at the candy store down town," the woman shouted. "Now, Kaze. I'll forgive you for forgetting me if you listen to what I have to say to you," Susan said.

"Just shoot. You'll do it anyway, just like everyone else," Kaze muttered.

"Is that supposed to be a subtle 'You suck, Rei' or something," I asked. Kaze just sighed and shook his head, seeing as Susan was taking a deep breath in a preparation for her speech.

"Now, listen here! The advantages of being in a relationship with someone as famous as you are incredibly small, but the advantages of dating someone who is a common folk, like, I don't know, me, will give you so much! You'll seem kind and sweet! It'll make you even more famous," Susan smiled, holding her hand out to the side like a teacher before a chalkboard... Ugh, don't remind me of all the lessons at Duel Academy... Wait a second... Was she telling Kaze to... Oh heck no!

"How about you just-," I started.

"Ah, look... I'm sorry that I forgot about the whole dueling help thing... But the truth is, I'm kind of on a date right now," Kaze said. I quickly turned towards him and saw that he was smiling innocently, probably not realizing that he would probably just egg the girl on.

"A-a what," Susan shouted.

"Like I said... I'm really sorry, but do you think that you could wait a little longer? I'm kind of booked for the next few days," Kaze said, shooting me a glance as if for some type of conformation.

"I-I didn't mean to intrude! I'm sorry for being such a bother, honest," Susan shouted, quickly bowing before running off.

"Did you say 'date' with Sherry," I asked.

"Well, it actually is a date... Sherry called me her boyfriend too... So I think that I'm your guys' one day boyfriend or something," Kaze said.

"You do know that all your little fans are going to be going even more crazy because you called it a date," I sighed. Kaze just shrugged. "Well, I'm glad you're finally giving them the slap on the wrist they deserve! Now, come on! We've got a whole lot more to do today," I smiled, quickly grabbing his hand with my own before dragging him off.

* * *

><p>"Alright, admit it, Kaze! From taking a boat ride to taking a stroll, you have to admit that was a better date than your date with Sherry," I said.<p>

"Well, I didn't have to deal with James and Noir, so I guess it was," Kaze muttered.

"W-what! You ran into James! Why didn't you tell him to hook up with Ruka," I shouted.

"Because... He was, I don't know, five years old," Kaze said.

"Just great! There goes the plan to get rid of one more heart break! Why couldn't he be twenty some years older," I grumbled. Kaze, who clearly had no idea what I was talking about, just sighed.

"That reminds me... Why did you suggest this whole date thing instead of just letting me pick and get over it," Kaze asked. Hm... should I lie and give a totally sensitive and awesome look, or should I just tell the truth? Well, I can't him thinking I'm liar, but still...

"To be quite honest, I just wanted to have a little fun before you pick either Sherry or Ruka," I said. Kaze opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "I know I must be a bother, budding in on your relationship however long ago at the tournament and just throwing you into more messes," I said.

"You're making it sound like you think I hate you," Kaze muttered.

"Don't you dare try and comfort me, lover boy! If you do, I'll take that as you love me," I teased, causing Kaze to sigh.

"I honestly hate this idea. I never wanted to do this. It'll just lead to you guys gaining even more feelings and then you'll get hurt even more in the end. You guys are my friends, so I really don't want to purposely hurt you more than I have to here," Kaze muttered.

"Well, no problem! Ruka and I agree that we'll always be your friend, so if you don't pick Sherry, we can just move to another country so we're all safe," I giggled. Kaze managed to keep a serious face for several seconds, as if he was going to scold me, but even he couldn't help but find the humor in the idea and ended up laughing as well.

"But, honestly... I don't think Sherry would be that bad... She's a pretty respectable woman. I think she'd respect my choice no matter what," Kaze said.

"If only for a short while before she kidnaps you or something," I said.

"Knock it off, will you... Sherry isn't that bad," Kaze said.

"That's because I have to watch her flirt with you and you don't have to! If you saw Judai flirting with me, you'd be upset, wouldn't you," I asked.

"Well, obviously, because he's with Asuka, isn't he? It wouldn't be right to cheat on her," Kaze said.

"That's not the point, you moron," I snapped. I turned away and ran a hand through my hair as I sighed. Of all the people... had to be the most innocent guy there probably was... "I... Hey, Kaze... You... you do remember our promise, right...? The one from back at DA," I muttered.

"Of course I do," Kaze said. "_'Partners forever and ever.'_ How could I forget when you were bawling your eyes out," Kaze teased, causing me to blush.

"J-Jeez, Kaze! I was a kid back then! You don't need to bring it up," I shouted.

"_'C'mon! You gotta pinky swear! I mean it! I want you to pinky swear to me that we'll still be partners, even after this!'_ The way it all played out, you'd think I was going to war or something," Kaze chuckled.

"I-It was an emotional time for me! I thought I was never going to see you again," I protested, pushing down what I could of my blush.

"But here we are, several years later, and on a team and everything," Kaze muttered. Neither of us said anything for a while after that.

"Do you think... that if Judai and the others didn't pick their partners first... And you could have had anyone you wanted at Duel Academy to be your partner... Do you think you would have chosen someone else? I was a last resort, wasn't I," I asked.

"You weren't a last resort. Plenty of other duelists still needed partners. I wouldn't have picked anyone else anyway. I'd see them all later, but you were on your second year, and I wouldn't see you for a year longer. So obviously I'd want to get one last good tag duel with you," Kaze said, placing one hand on my head as he did. So that's the case, huh...? Why wouldn't he do something more special with Ruka then before he left... That was even longer and..

"You're such a doof, you know that," I said as I pushed his hand off.

"W-what's that supposed to mean," Kaze asked.

"Oblivious to a girl's feelings, as always," I said.

"What do you mean then! That's what you were asking, wasn't it," Kaze asked.

"Of course, of course," I sighed. "Now then! Close your eyes, you doof! I have a surprise for you," I said.

"First off, before I do, should I be worried and or scared," Kaze asked.

"If you were with Sherry, then yes, but with me, no," I said. Kaze chuckled lightly before closing his eyes. Oh, if only I wasn't so nervous, I could totally kiss him right now and he would be fawning all over me... Stupid nervousness! Oh well, I guess I have to settle for Plan B... which might just be better after all, but oh well.

I pulled out the black, velvet box from my pocket and shoved it against Kaze's chest.

"Is that the sign to open my eyes or something," Kaze asked. Seeings as I didn't reply, he opened his eyes and took the box into his hands. "This... is for me," Kaze asked.

"Yup! Consider yourself off the hook, because I'll be giving the gift for once," I smiled. He hesitantly shot a glance from me to the box and back again. After getting enough of a feeling that it wouldn't be something crazy, he opened the box. Kaze's eyes widened at seeing what was inside.

"R-Rei! You didn't have to-," he started.

"This is just my little way of saying thanks for having to put up with us for the past years. I bet it sure was a pain," I smiled. Kaze, who didn't seemed convinced with my excuse, looked back down into the box, staring at the decorative figurine of his own Ace Monster.

"But, it must have been expensive and," Kaze trailed off.

"Don't tell the others, but it's not expensive or anything. Some fake material that made it dirt cheap," I whispered. Kaze looked away and scratched his neck, clearly thinking about something.

"Ah, I was thinking of, I don't know, hugging you or something like we usually do, but that would be kind of awkward, giving the circumstances we're in, right..?"

"It's more awkward now..." "But... let's just forget that," I said before quickly tackling him, nearly sending him to ground, as he wasn't prepared.

"R-Rei! What the heck," Kaze shouted.

"It's been so long since we've had a hug! It feels like it's our first hug too," I said.

"Should I be scared of what a first kiss would be," Kaze mumbled.

"You wanna see? I'll show you," I said eagerly, already preparing, against what he would say.

"N-no thanks! I'm good," Kaze said.

"Come on! It'll be quick if you don't like it! I bet you haven't had your first kiss yet, so it'll be perfect," I insisted. "I can tie a cherry stem _twice_ with my tongue, I'll have you know," I whispered, which had no affect on my innocent date.

"You know, I actually had my first kiss already," Kaze said. Wait... Don't tell me.. No way!

"For God's sake! I leave you two alone for _one night _and she makes out with you! _Sherry LeBlanc_! I knew you were up to no good with the hotel," I shouted.

"It was actually before we even met up," Kaze said.

"But it was Sherry, wasn't it," I asked. Kaze nodded. "That's it. Step back, Kaze. I've got some girl-to-girl talking to do," I said as I rolled up my sleeves.

"Hold up! You can't-," Kaze started. He tried to get in front of me, as if it would stop me, which obviously wouldn't. You couldn't stop a Maiden in Love, he should have known that.

"I said step back! If you want to get into a cat fight, then be my guest," I snapped. Kaze sighed and took a few steps to the side, causing me to go silent. "Kaze, I... I meant it... If you do pick Sherry... Don't make it longer than it has to be, alright," I muttered.

"Rei, I-," Kaze started.

"Save it, you doof. I told you already, if you try to comfort me, it'll sound like I've lost, but that isn't the case now, is it," I asked.

"You have the weirdest mood swings I have ever seen," Kaze muttered, promptly getting my hand slapped against his cheek for the remark. "W-what was that for," Kaze asked.

"You don't say that while the girl is there, you idiot! If you're going to say it, at least say it where I can't hear you," I shouted.

"Oh, right... Sorry, I guess it just... slipped, I guess," Kaze said.

"You're lucky that I'm a very kind and forgiving person! Sherry wouldn't let you off with any snide remarks like that," I said.

"Tell me about it," Kaze sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean? You do the same thing with Sherry?"

"Not intentionally, but... She took it in a nasty way."

"You don't mean... Why would you provoke her like that!"

"I told you, I didn't mean to!"

"_Sherry_!"

_..._

Back where Sherry and Ruka were at, Sherry sneezed.

* * *

><p><em>Oh, just great... It feels like I'm just getting to know Kaze again... What if his tastes have changed...? What if he doesn't like the same things? Then I'll totally be embarrassed in front of him...!I have to pick something plain that will work no matter what! Not only that, but I bet he's worn out from whatever Rei and Sherry did... Something plain... You know, now that I think about it...<em>

_That's right...! The carnival is in town! There's no way that he can hate the carnival and he'll definitely get to relax there! ... But why do I have the feeling that something is going to go wrong...? Maybe it's because Rei and Sherry keep glaring at me..._

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><p><em><span>Notes: <span>  
><em>

- The figurine was originally going to be something different, but I decided that it would be better placed somewhere else/as the finale, so poor Rei's gift got downgraded.

- If you don't get the whole sneeze thing, it's just some cliche thing that apparently happens when you're talked about and you aren't there. Tried to throw some humor in, but clearly failed..

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><p><em><span>Reviews: <span>  
><em>

-2dayIsUrDay: I am 90%, if things go as I have planned, as writing is wonderfully unpredictable, that I'll be using a closed ending. (Do you call it that..? Aka one person is chosen anyway)

-GodzillaG/The Wild Fang: If by all out/bold, you mean cheating and trying to win your way to a Yugioh man's heart through the monsters, than yes, it's quite bold xD


	25. Carnival Date

Kaze glared at the stack of nine jugs, carefully judging the distance and force it would take to knock them all down. Four balls later, he still couldn't manage to get more than seven jugs down. After getting what he thought to be the right idea, he reeled his arm back before letting the ball fly. The ball hit the middle jug, causing the others above and around it to quickly tumble, followed by two beneath it. The last jug started wobbling, but soon came to a halt, causing Kaze to grumble his complaints. "L-look at it this way! You did better than before," I pointed out. Kaze nodded before picking up another ball from the rack. Before he could even start focusing, my ringtone sounded. "Ah, sorry, but I should check this," I said. Kaze nodded before returning to sizing up the reset jugs.

I dodged my way through the crowd after that, making my way to the open area near the entrance to the main building of the area, where the noise was the most bearable. I pulled my phone out, checking the Caller ID. All that was there was *67. My instincts nagged at me to just ignore the call and return to Kaze, who was still struggling to get his aim together, but another part of my brain told me to answer it. What if it was someone I knew, like Rua? But... why would Rua use *67...?

That's how I ended up answering the phone. I let curiosity get the best of me. "Hello," I asked.

"Just stay where you are. We'll be there to pick you up soon." Then the caller hung up. Pick me up...? That wasn't Rua... That was a girl's voice. Was it just a wrong number call? Yeah, that had to be it. The world was safe. Our Signer marks weren't back, that was proof enough. Someone must have just had the wrong number!

Feeling heartened, I made my way back through the crowd to the game stand where I left Kaze at. Only he wasn't there anymore. "Excuse me, but did you see where my friend left to," I asked to the teen behind the table.

"Uhm, that guy wearing red, right," the boy asked. I nodded. "He got a call from someone too. Said something about he had to go meet up with someone quick," the boy said.

"He left without telling me," I asked softly. I should have known... This was... It was all too good to be true... Rei or Sherry probably called him and he left instantly to go after them... But why would they...?

My phone rang again, this time using the tone that meant I had a text message. I dug out my phone once more and opened the message. _'Come to the nurse's room in the main building of the carnival. We'll be waiting. '_From 'Anonymous'. This was just my luck... It's not like I could call or text this person back either, to tell them they had the wrong number... But... wait.. Carnival...? Main building...? What if this was really meant for me...? What if Noir came back and wanted to catch up...? Yeah, that's probably it! It's nothing strange! Kaze was probably there, waiting for me.

I nodded my thanks to the teen before walking off. It didn't take me too long to reach the designated area, but when I reached the room, the lights were all off. I reached to turn them on, but a hand caught mine, causing me to freeze. Shivers ran up my spine. Whoever was here... They more than likely weren't friendly. And they weren't Kaze.

"Just hold up, will you," a familiar voice asked through the dark.

"R-Rei," I asked.

"You can't be turning on lights all willy nilly like that! That's my job," Rei said before letting go of my hand and turning on the lights herself, apparently having some pride in that task. In the clearly unused nurse's area, both Sherry and Rei were waiting. By the way they were dressed, you would think that they were on their dates still. Rei was wearing a long blue sundress with a beret on, which was most likely borrowed from Sherry, as Rei wasn't one to wear hats. Sherry was wearing a low cut, black and white stripped shirt with a semi-long yellow skirt. Me...? I was wearing my usual pink and white attire.

"She was looking forward to doing a dramatic reveal, or something Rei-like," Sherry said.

"Well, it sure was dramatic enough," I murmured.

"_Sheesh!_ We're here to help you, and this is what we get? We're here to help you out of this mess you've gotten yourself into," Rei said.

"Just what's going on! I didn't interrupt your guys' dates, so why are you interrupting mine," I asked, doing my best to keep my anger in check.

"It's for your own good," Sherry said, which didn't convince me any more.

"Honestly! You and your dates with Kaze! You dress so casually, you'd swear that he was your big brother or something," Rei sighed. I was about to protest that those were Rua's feelings of Kaze at the beginning of our relationship, but Rei didn't seem intent on listening. "Besides! The carnival? How can you expect _anything_ romantic to happen at the _carnival_," Rei asked. To my surprise, she actually sounded a little mad.

"What do you care...? Any other time, you'd be all over a mistake like that," I said.

"Like it or not, the three of us are like sisters, fighting for the guy we like! It's painful to see one of you guys make one of the worst mistakes you'll ever make," Rei said.

"Thanks for that," I muttered. Rei quickly jumped, realizing the harshness in her words.

"Y-you know what I mean," Rei said. "But anyway, we gotta get you fixed up! We can get you a new fancy hair style and-," Rei started.

"No thanks," I said, taking the two by surprise.

"W-what do you mean," Sherry asked.

"Yeah! We're going to help you out! We'll dress you up real pretty and-," Rei started once more.

"If Kaze won't love me just because of the way I'm dressed, then it was never meant to be anyway. If Kaze really loved me, I could come here wearing something ugly, mismatching, and crazy and he'd still compliment me and everything," I said. The two before me didn't say anything. Rei bit at her fingernail, quite obvious to how awkward the atmosphere turned.

"So, ah... you don't want our help," Rei asked softly.

"I'm grateful for your offer, but no thanks. I'm content with what I look like now," I said before turning around and walking off, leaving the two even more stunned.

"Man... where have we been all these years...? Ruka's grown up so much..."

* * *

><p>Now that I think about it, wandering off without asking Sherry and Rei where Kaze was... That probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done. Out of options, I returned to where I last saw Kaze, hoping that he had magically returned. After confronting Rei and Sherry, my luck seemed to take a turn for the better, as he was sitting there, aiming a ball at the jugs, as if I hadn't even left. I opened my mouth to say something, but then my luck took a 360. "<em>Kaaaaaze<em>!" There was a crash of jugs as Rei tackled Kaze. During his interrupted throw, the ball had actually knocked all the jugs down. Kaze, the three of us girls, and the teen behind the table were all stunned. Rei recovered the quickest. "That's the power of my love, baby..."

"Uh... Ruka... help yourself to whatever prize you get... I guess... I mean, it's your date," Kaze said, clearly feeling confusing about the entry of Rei and Sherry.

"R-really...? Uh, thanks," I said before turning to the shelves which the teen designated to me.

"Just what are you guys doing here? Your dates are over and done," Kaze said.

"Woah, woah, _woah_," the teen shouted, interrupting my internal debates between a stuffed lion and a stuffed bear. He shot a look from me to Kaze, from Rei to Kaze, and then Sherry to Kaze, and repeated several times. "You mean to tell me that you got all these hot chicks fawning over you _and_ you get to date them _all_," the teen shouted. My face quickly flushed a bright red. H-hot? No one's ever... Is that what Kaze thought now too...? I shot a glance at Kaze, who was blushing, but was doing his best to hide it.

"They aren't-" Kaze stopped in mid-sentence. He shot a glance at Sherry and Rei. Rei gave him an approving nod of holding his tongue.

"As a note, he isn't dating all of us, we're just trying to get him to chose," Rei said.

"He's failing miserably, I might add," Sherry noted.

"Ah, I see. You just want all these chicks to yourself! Props, man! You gotta teach me sometime," the teen grinned.

"Honestly...? It's not as great as you think. The cat fights are horrible," Kaze muttered. Rei promptly slammed her heel onto his foot. While wearing high heels, I imagine that it hurt quite a bit, but Kaze did his best to keep it in. "See...? Told you," Kaze mumbled.

"Not very lady like today, are we," Sherry asked.

"That's the third time he's said a comment like that! You were doing so good, Kaze! Why'd you have to regress," Rei asked.

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth," Kaze argued. He quickly raised his foot before Rei could stomp on it again.

"You so owe me some cotton candy for this," Rei muttered.

"Dude. I don't know what you're complaining about," the teen said. Kaze shot him a glance that suggested he was crazy, but the teen didn't seem to mind.

"_Kaaaze!_ Come on, I want that cotton candy now," Rei pouted, pulling at Kaze's sleeve as she did.

"B-but what about-," Kaze started.

"Ruka's a big girl! She can pick on her own," Rei said.

"But this is-," Kaze started.

"This is a matter of life or death, Kaze! My stomach is going to explode of emptiness," Rei insisted, tugging even harder. Kaze shot me a glance, and I just smiled, giving him the approval to go. He didn't even get to walk though, as Rei promptly dragged him off towards the food, Sherry quickly following.

This was it... this was the last day I'd have with Kaze before he... No, I have to stay positive. I can't think like this after what I told Rei and Sherry. I have to stay strong... Kaze will definitely... "Can I have the bear, please," I asked. The teen nodded, but instead of grabbing the bear first, he quickly wrote something on a piece of paper, which he handed to me with the bear. I looked at the sheet and I noticed there was a number on it.

"If, ah.. You know, one or two or all of you get bored or something," the teen trailed off. I couldn't help but giggle, seeing his face turn red.

"I'll be sure to let them know."

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><p><em>Reviews:<em>

The Wild Fang:You know, I should have had the titles be 'Strike One', 'Strike Two', and 'Strike Three'... Then have the last chapter be 'You're out' or something... Yes, poor Kaze is doomed to forever have his words taken the wrong way.

GodzillaG: As you probably know, I am trying to work on that right now... The file is just... somewhere on my flash drive.

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><p><em>Notes:<em>

- For the first time, I was watching/listening to the TV while writing this chapter. Several things caught my interest ever so much... Such as the 'Pinesole' commercial. That just got to me, and thus it was implemented into here, said by none other than Rei. My mom was watching a soap opera or something as well, and thus the dramatic confrontation was born.


	26. And the Truth is (Pt1)

First of all, I would like to apologize for the super long wait on this. Long story short, lots happened and I've had writer's block and just couldn't get things put down right and had to write it several times. Eventually I decided to give up and to split this into (Hopefully) two parts so you at least know the story isn't dead. We'll see how this will go, I guess...

* * *

><p>Kaze let out a sigh, which broke the silence that formed while the three of us were left waiting for Rei to get here. Honestly, I had expected her to show up at the meeting place an hour early or something based on how excited she seemed this morning. But instead, Sherry and I were the only ones who showed up around the designated time. "So... ah... we'll still be cool after this is done, right," Kaze asked slowly, probably afraid of possibility that this could end up ruining pretty much everything.<p>

"Depends," Sherry said without skipping a beat. Kaze just awkwardly pulled at the collar of his shirt due to that, probably not having a great time thinking of a proper response to that.

"Well, Rei and I decided that we'll be friends after this," I offered, hoping to raise his spirits back up. Before he could respond, the door to his room was flung open and Rei rushed in, quickly clearing past us in her power walk to Kaze. After getting next to him, she went on with what seemed to be incoherent sentences, with random pauses and such, which I take it was due to her lack of breath.

"Um... yes," Kaze asked.

"I... I was trying to shape up my deck in case you made us duel... and time kinda flew by," Rei said.

"You aren't going to have to duel... If you were going to have to duel, then we would have just done that from the start," Kaze said.

"Well... If some odd stroke of luck makes you choose one of the others, now I can beat them in a duel for you," Rei said.

"And you wonder why people think we solve everything with duels here," Kaze murmured.

"I wouldn't have had to prepare like this if you hadn't put this off for so long," Rei protested.

"'Let's wait two years for Ruka to get back', 'Let's wait until we all get dates', 'Let's wait until after the tournament to talk about this'... So far, it seems like it's all been you," Sherry pointed out. Rei opened her mouth to protest once more, but her words came short for the moment.

"Actually, Kaze could have made out with me while we were alone once Ruka was at school and you were off doing whatever you do, so it's his fault, see," Rei asked.

"So you weren't going to wait like you said," I asked.

"Look, if he was going to have me then and there, you really think I was going to say something," Rei retorted.

"For someone who seems to think of us as her sisters, I really feel the sisterly love," Sherry murmured.

"We can be sisters after this! All Kaze has to say is 'I love you, Rei'," Rei smiled.

"You sure are confident that he loves you," I noted.

"We're like childhood friends, aren't we, Kaze," Rei asked, in which Kaze hesitantly nodded, probably fearing what disagreeing would bring. "So there you have it! Childhood friends always fall in love, so problem solved," Rei said.

"No, problem not solved. That's not how it works at all," Kaze said.

"Kaze, you have to drop being shy! You're going to have to come out with your feelings for me sooner or later," Rei said. "I've got it! If you're too shy, then we can all-," Rei started.

"No, I've had it with your ideas. You'll probably put it off another day or something," Sherry said.

"No, it's really good, honest," Rei insisted.

"There's no harm in hearing her out, right," I asked.

"Exactly! You'll love it too, Kaze, I just know it," Rei smiled.

"When it comes to me being in things, you won't listen anyway, so shoot," Kaze sighed.

"Alright! You see, the three of us could each take a piece of paper and write down a riddle that would lead you to a specific location! Since the three of us won't pick the same place, and you'll have to understand what they're saying to find them, then it's obvious that you'll find your soulmate without the other two having to see," Rei said. The rest of us didn't say anything for a while. "It's perfect, right," Rei asked.

"I can't believe it... That's actually may be good enough to work," Sherry said.

"How is it that hard to believe," Rei snapped. "God, you're so ungrateful of my ideas! Maybe I should keep them to myself then," Rei mumbled.

"Enough stalling, Rei," Sherry said.

"I'm not stalling, you are," Rei snapped. "Here! Let's just forget the paper, we can text Kaze! The sooner that I get Kaze's confession, the better," Rei said before walking off, leaving the rest of us silent.

"Well, good luck, I guess," I said, or rather asked, before taking my leave as well.

* * *

><p>"It's mine!"<p>

"I got here first."

"I sent the text first!"

"That doesn't matter. I got here first, so go find somewhere else."

"Uh.. I thought you said we wouldn't all pick the same place," I said, causing the two to momentarily stop in their arguing.

"I didn't think you guys would all pick the fountain in the park! In case you haven't heard, this is where my date was, so it's obvious that I'd want to be here," Rei said.

"Well, this place is pretty peaceful, so I chose here," I said.

"I picked here because I thought I'd get some privacy. Apparently I was mistaken," Sherry said.

"Well, let's hurry up and separate before Kaze gets here," Rei said. "For all we know, he may have a mental breakdown or something! The poor guy just wants some alone time with me and you two keep showing up," Rei continued. Before Sherry could object, Rei jumped, causing the two of us to turn. There was Kaze, walking towards us with his phone out.

"Um... If you guys just wanted a change of scenery, you could have asked without that huge act," Kaze said.

"It wasn't planned! They crashed my location! Show them that I texted you first," Rei said.

"Speaking of text messaging... if Kaze feels uncomfortable with just saying it, since we're all here, why doesn't he just text it to us," Sherry asked.

"Great! Just send the one you like a text saying 'Love you, baby'," Rei said. Kaze couldn't think of a proper response to that for a while, so he simply remained silent.

"Fine, I'll do it... But I'm getting a good hundred feet away or so and I'm not saying 'Love you, baby'," Kaze said.

"Well, as long as you don't do something stupid, then I don't think Sherry will kill you," Rei said. The way he glanced at her high heels gave away that Sherry wasn't the only one he was worried about. He thought that probably went through his head was that no matter who he picked, then he'd more than likely get some type of physical assault.

"You know, I'll get on my D-wheel and then send it then," Kaze muttered.

"Now why would you do that," Sherry asked.

"Well, if one of you start running at me, then I can just take off at top speed," Kaze said.

"Are you saying that we could run faster than you," Rei asked.

"No, it's just a very secure safety precaution," Kaze said.

"I'm sure it is. I think a certain red wearing boy is just scared that I could catch him and take him down before he even knew what hit him," Rei said. Kaze grumbled his complaints, but made his way towards his D-wheel regardless, phone in hand, already getting the message ready. Before he even got to his parked D-wheel, Rei already had her phone out, clutching it as if it was a winning lottery ticket.

"You sure are... confident despite everything so far," I pointed out.

"Of course! I told you, we're like childhood friends! He'll definitely-," Rei started. She stopped and shot a glare at Sherry, who was currently occupied with her phone. "Don't you dare tell me you got it and not me," Rei said.

"Relax. It's just Mizoguchi," Sherry sighed.

"Well, who does he think he is, interrupting such a tense moment," Rei asked.

"He has a history of doing it. Like when I was about to sleep with Kaze, he called and said that I had to go back with him," Sherry said. Both Rei and I took this different ways. Knowing what Sherry did, I took this as she was going to sleep on his couch or something. Rei took this as something far worse.

"Sleep... with Kaze...? Sherry LeBlanc, you are the most-"

"Ah, sorry, It doesn't seem right to text it, so I'm going to-," Kaze's words were cut off but Rei taking hold of his shoulders and roughly shaking him around.

"How could you even think to sleep with Sherry! You pervert! That's what you are! A pervert," Rei shouted.

"I had no choice in the matter! She kind of just did it on her own," Kaze insisted. "I had no idea until I woke up the next morning," Kaze continued.

"Sherry! It wasn't consensual," Rei asked, temporary stopping her shaking of Kaze.

"We're on two different pages here, as a note," Sherry said.

"There's no other definition of sleeping with someone," Rei said.

"There's the kind that you did as a kid with a stuffed animal," I pointed out.

"But this is Sherry we're talking about," Rei whispered, as if it would keep the blond from hearing.

"W-wait! You think that Sherry and I," Kaze trailed off, in which Rei nodded.

"She doesn't seem to know you very well if she thinks that you would do that," Sherry said.

"God, way to make the atmosphere awkward, Rei," Kaze sighed.

"I'm not the one who was going to sleep with Sherry," Rei mumbled.

"That was a long time ago," Kaze snapped.

"Oh, so you would have done it," Rei asked. Before the argument could get any further, Sherry easily dragged the two apart.

"Uh... Kaze...? Weren't you saying something before Rei interrupted," I asked.

"Well, I was going to say that I was going to suck up the awkwardness and just say it, but now Rei just made it ten times more awkward," Kaze said.

"Just do it already, Mr. Keeping lovely maidens waiting for years," Rei said.

"You should just tell her that it isn't her so that we can get down to business without her interruptions," Sherry said.

"Or he could tell you that it isn't you so we can go on without _your_ interruptions," Rei said. Or he could say that it was neither of you... But who am I kidding, that would never happen. He'd probably get chased off on the spot... Maybe he should have just stayed on his D-wheel for this...

"Alright, fine... The truth is..."

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><p>This probably won't make up for the super long wait that it took to write it, as it's a cliff hanger, but at least it's an update ^^'<p>

_Notes:_

- After failing to finish the chapter in a proper way, I ended up pulling all the different versions up. Then I did surgery on them and mix the ideas up and I finally got the chapter done... I have no idea why I didn't do this early, since this seems to work._  
><em>

- Someone suggested that I do a sort of bonus chapter for each of the girls where they all have their own endings. After getting this done, I realized it may be more challenging than I thought, but if enough people wanted to see it, I could work on it. If not, there would be just the one ending with the one girl.

_Reviews:  
><em>_  
><em>- The Wild Fang: I imagined it as since the carnival is a public event, Sherry and Rei were there of their own accord with no idea of the date. Then they saw her dressing like normal and figured they had to help out. After Ruka turns their help down, she and Sherry just 'conveniently' were in the same place as them.


	27. And the Truth is (Pt2)

First of all, I'd like to offer a huge apology to all of you who were waiting for the conclusion of this story. No matter how many times I wrote and rewrote this chapter, I was never completely satisfied. Even now, there are some things that I'm not too satisfied with, but I figure that I've kept you guys waiting long enough. So, without further or do, here is the last part of 'Lives Beyond Revenge and Jealousy'

I feebly tried to pull Rei away from Kaze, but only ended up getting dragged over by her in the end. "What do you mean that you like Sherry?" Rei snapped at Kaze, the anger practically oozing off of her as she spoke.

"Well, while we're on the confession boat, I used to love you," Kaze said, taking Rei by surprise. In fact, I think it took us all by surprise. She quickly got over this, as it only evoked another spike of anger for her.

"Why didn't you tell me, you idiot?" Rei snapped once more.

"I'm sorry that you were too busy flirting with every other guy in the school to notice a school crush," Kaze said frankly.

"I didn't flirt with every guy in school!" Rei protested.

"Let's see... Ryo, Judai, Jun, that Martin kid-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, but I was a maiden trying to find love back then! Isn't the fact that I've been waiting for you for years sign enough that I'm serious about you?" Rei asked.

"I'm actually over it... Since we didn't exchange contact information, I figured it was a lost cause to contact you... By the time you came back, I already liked Sherry," Kaze said.

"So before the tournament... I was kind of a bother then, wasn't I?" I asked, causing Kaze to jump.

"See!? This is why I wanted to do this privately!" Kaze said to his purple haired teammate. "But Ruka, it's not like that at all. It's not like I knew what was happening at the time, but I figure that's the time when the feelings started coming," Kaze continued as he redirected his attention to me.

"Way to friend zone her," Rei sighed.

"_'Partners forever. You better not replace me, you hear'_," Kaze quoted, causing Rei to jump.

"D-don't blame this on me! It's not my fault!" Rei snapped before spinning around to face me. "I'm sorry! It's all my fault! If I hadn't been so selfish, you wouldn't be friend zoned right now!"

"You are probably one of the worst sports there are, do you know that?" Sherry asked, speaking for the first time in a while. Now that I think about it, it may have been better if she had stayed quiet.

"Don't act so high and mighty just because he said he likes you! All he said is that he likes you! Like and love are two different things," Rei said.

"Based on the context, I'm positive that he was referring to love, but simply couldn't get the nerve to say it as such" Sherry said. "Just stop being a poor sport already. What happened to you'd be fine no matter what?" Sherry asked to the purple haired duelist. Rei opened her mouth to protest, but her words fell short and she had to grab her chin in thought.

"Oh no... She's got the face," Kaze muttered.

"The face?" I asked, oblivious to whatever code name that was for.

"Another Rei idea is coming, simply put," Sherry explained. Rei's eyes suddenly widened and she broke into a wide grin, causing Kaze to cautiously back up.

"But none of this means anything at all!" Rei declared, taking the rest of us by surprise.

"W-what do you mean!? I worked up my nerves to say that who I liked and it doesn't mean anything?" Kaze shouted.

"That's right! It doesn't mean anything because... This is just a preliminary judgement! Of course! Sherry may have won Round One, but Ruka and I will win Round Two!" Rei cheered, only to startle us even more.

"Pray tell: How many rounds are there?" Sherry asked, even though she clearly wasn't amused by the 'Rei Idea'.

"As many rounds as it takes! It may take hundreds of rounds for Kaze to like us instead, but that's just how it'll have to be!" Rei declared boldly.

"D-did we just take a thousand steps backwards in this?" Kaze asked shakily.

"Rei, come on...! You shouldn't force this on Kaze," I tried to reason with my friend, but she wouldn't have it.

"Come on, Ruka! You can't be happy with the way that this turned out," Rei said. She seemed to want to say more to support her case, but some sort of instinct within her caused her to pause and turn towards the blond duelist. Said duelist fearlessly reached her hand out and grasped Kaze's. Whether she was aiming to make some point or make Rei even more jealous, I'm not sure, but the later happened anyway. "Get your hands off my man!" Rei snapped as she pointed an accusing finger at the blond. Kaze opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't process, I take it.

"_Your_man...? If I'm not mistaken, he said that he liked me, not you," Sherry said. The two quickly got so caught up in their developing argument that they didn't even notice when Kaze started backed away, clearly not wanting to be here when the two hit the climax of their argument. Although, now that I consider it, I'm not sure if I want to be here either...

"Kaze...? Do you want to go?" I asked in a whisper, taking Kaze by surprise. "I... I mean, it'd be rude, but nothing good will come out of us staying here and dealing with their wrath afterwards... We might as well just leave and deal with it later," I continued. Kaze, whether he simply didn't want to deal with them at the moment or saw the point in my reasoning, simply nodded in agreement. We slowly began to back away in retreat, being what we thought was silent and unheard over the bickering of the duo.

"_Ruka_! You _traitor_!" Rei's voice accused. Clearly, we weren't as silent as we thought... "You too, Kaze! I hate to admit it, bu you did say you like Sherry! Now you're turning around and running off with Ruka!" Rei continued to accuse us. I quickly blushed upon realizing how Rei and Sherry were taking our retreat. They... they thought Kaze and I were actually sneaking off to be together?!

"I-it's not like that! Y-you guys were just arguing... so," Kaze trailed off dejectedly, already knowing that Rei wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I can't believe you two! I turn away for one second! I just have to stop turning away from you, Kaze!" Rei said, causing Kaze to sigh.

"This is going to be my life from now on?" Kaze asked himself under his breath.

"Don't act so depressed! You know you love our attention," Rei stated. With the conviction that she had in saying this, you'd swear she was saying that the sky was blue, or some other definite fact.

"Although some less than others, I'm sure," Sherry muttered, causing Rei and her to go at each others throats once more. I shot a glance over to Kaze, who was reluctantly acknowledging the fact that he'd be forced to deal with their constant bickering for quite some time longer.

So, this was the 'Life Beyond Jealousy' that I promised myself however many years ago...? Stuck knowing that Kaze already likes someone else... Doesn't that still make me jealous? Although, now that I think about it... As long as Rei continues to distract the two with whatever 'Rei ideas' she comes up with, then I'll still have a chance, right? Technically, both Rei and I have a chance still... As long as Kaze doesn't mind us around for so long, that is... Maybe this life beyond jealousy won't be so bad after all, even if I happen to get jealous from time to time.

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><p><span>Notes:<span>

- Before you all get mad that this was an open ending story, I will say that in the end, Sherry is the one that Kaze ends up with. In truth, I couldn't get a definite ending out without making it a cliche thing, and I had no idea how to end it like that given that the story is from Ruka's PoV. So, for the SherryXKaze/HatGuy fans out there, yes, this is the 'official' pairing in this story. It's definitely my favorite hat guy pairing, or if not, one of my top three.

- Since the main story of this is now complete, I will be focusing the Hat Guy pairings in the short one shots like 'Mistletoe' and 'A Heart to Win'. If you have a specific pairing or a specific idea you'd like to see implemented in one of these one shots, feel free to shoot me a message./

- I was originally just going to update 'And the Truth is.. (Pt.1)' with this addition and then just get rid of the parts, but seeing as you all reviewed and such already to that specific part, I decided to just leave it like this and add the second part. If you find that a combined chapter would be more efficient, I can add them together and just update the story

Reviews:

- Most of you said the same thing, so I'd just like to thank you all for waiting patiently. In fact, thanks to everyone for waiting patiently and following the story through and through.


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